Two Shuffles Harry (Bro. John Hamman)
The deck is shuffled and two cards are selected and replaced. The deck is then shuffled face-up and face-down and then again for good measure. The deck is cut in half and a magical gesture is made. When the halves are spread they are completely face-down except for the two selected cards! Then it is revealed that the chosen cards are the only ones of opposite color in their halves! This is a KILLER trick that is based primarily on one move. Please, please try this out, because it is so good. Harry does not explain the move because it is not his to teach, but most of you will know it. I love this effect with a burning passion!
Flipswitch (Bob Elliot)
A coin is laying on the palm of your hand. You turn it over. Oh, and in that simple action you have switched a coin easily. Here is another fantastic utility coin switch that you can use in many situations. As I have told you, I don't really "do coins," I just dabble, but I was still able to pick this move up after the first or second time I tried it. If I can do it, so can you! Definitely learn this one.
Fibonacci Fantasy (Martin Gardner)
I'm not even sure what the effect is here, but essentially it's several mathematical effects based on the Fibonacci pattern, which most of you probably don't know what it is. I personally can't stand most mathematical effects. They don't make much sense and often require too much thought on the part of the spectator to even understand what the effect is. Plus, they will just assume that you had no part in making the magic happen and that the mathematics just work out by themselves. Ehhhhhh.
Shovel Coin Shuffle (Frank Paglia)
A silver coin and a copper coin are several inches apart on a table. You cover each coin with a card, snap your fingers, and the coins have changed places. You then put the silver and the copper coin away in your pocket. They have reappeared under the cards. One more transpo follows. I like this routine quite a bit. It requires no gimmicks, it's fun, it has three phases, and it's a fooler. The only requirement is to have a table that you can perform the standard coin matrix on; most experienced magicians will know what I mean. This will require some practice, but it's a nice, "almost" impromptu, coin routine.
Torn and Restored Coin (David Roth)
You show a half dollar to be normal and then you make a vicious tear down one side of the coin, bending it back slightly. The spectators clearly see the tear, and then you rub the tear and, lo and behold, the coin has restored! Now, you can either choose to restore it or not. I think it would be cooler to do it with a quarter, so that way you can just borrow or "find" a quarter and then proceed to rip it and give it away. This reminds me of a Paul Harris type of effect because it is just...different. I can imagine it having a big impact on an audience. It's like the "Bite Off Coin," but a little bit more "real." So do you guys think that it would be stronger to rip, and then give away the coin, or restore it and then give it back?
Psychic Poker (Jon Racherbaumer)
The magician deals five hands to the spectators and himself, then each "player" thinks of the best card in their hand. The hands are assembled and shuffled into the deck. Then they are dealt out again: the magician shows his hand to be a royal flush, which is made up of all the thought of cards! This flush is set aside and the spectators freely think of another card from their hands. The cards are gathered and shuffled, then a spectator deals out the hands. You ask a spectator to choose one of the hands. When they do, it turns out to contain all of the thought of cards! Sorry for the long explanation, but I wanted you to really get a feel for what this is. The effect is VERY good. When you see the method, you may be turned away. You don't need gimmicks, but you will need a set-up deck with some extra things. You will not be able to use this deck for anything else except this trick if you leave it set-up, so that is a sacrifice you will have to make. To me, the strength of the effect outweighs the method. Decide for yourself.
The Jarred Coin (Sol Stone)
You show a baby food type jar with two different coins inside. You dump them out onto the table and ask the spectator to examine/select one of them. The other is placed back into the jar, and the lid sealed on top. Then you take the selected coin and slam it against the bottom of the jar; it penetrates through the glass! This is an interesting method/approach to the coin-through-something plot. Certainly you could have fun making jokes about the baby food jar and what not; however, I think I will stick to effects like Abyss. The plastic bottle looks much more natural and can be examined, the baby food jar can only partially be examined. A restaurant worker may like the aspect that the jar takes up less space than the typical bottle, so that's something to consider as well. Almost instant reset, and no folding coins either! I won't use this, but you may like it a lot. Let your mind run wild with presentations. I'm sure you'll come up with something!
Columns:
Out To Lunch
How Harry got his job at the Little Club and he talks about tips.
Unlabelled Columns
A To Tell the Truth Variation with six people.
Tidings
A review of "Magic Pipe Monday" at the Player's Club, reactions to Herb Zarrow's Zig-Zag effect, talk about Father Cyprian's new effects, a typo correction for Hanging Coins, and finally, a discussion about accusations of a man "exposing" Uri Gellar's keybend method. That last one is funny, make sure to read it!
Closing:
Sorry it's been a little while since the last review! With exams, projects, papers and everything else wrapping up for school, it's hard to fit in a review. I think most of you will understand!
Hopefully I can write another review in time for this weekend, but next week is exams for me. In other words don't be surprised if you don't see a review by Sunday night! I'll still try though.
Let me know what you think would be a better ending for Torn and Restored Coin, and if you differ in opinion about Fibonacci Fantasy or anything else, please comment. It's always cool to hear other people's views on things.
Apocalypse!
Showing posts with label reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reviews. Show all posts
January 21, 2010
January 18, 2010
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.7
Contingency Aces (Jon Racherbaumer)
Four aces are shown and the spectator thinks of one of the aces. The spectator names the ace he is thinking of and when the magician spreads the aces, the one that they named is now face up. This is repeated again, and possibly, again. The explanation for this effect is quite large and may seem complicated at first, but it really is a pretty fast effect and a direct effect. It's certainly a nice lead-in to a Twisting The Aces effect, or just as a middle piece in an ace routine. Make sure you practice this effect many times before doing the effect for live people because you need to be very familiar with the actions of the routine. It requires no table space, it's quick, it only uses four aces, I really like it.
Slippery Silver (Geoff Latta)
Four coins one at a time travel across to the other hand. It's a simple effect accomplished in a good way. Let me reiterate, I am NOT a coin worker so I haven't even tried this out. From what I read of it, it looked like a pretty good clean handling of a coins across, but nothing earth-shattering. You need a standard coin gaff which, if you "do" coins, you will most likely have.
Staple and Stab (Paul Harris & Looy Simonoff)
A spectator selects and signs a card which is lost into the pack. Two back-to-back stapled jokers are displayed and given to the spectator who stabs them into the deck. When he looks at the card next to the stapled jokers it is seen to be a joker with staple holes and all! The spectator turns over the stapled cards and now their SIGNED card is stapled to the joker! I love this effect! I think it's simple, surprising, original, memorable, different etc. You get the point! Obviously there are some practicality factors that have to be taken into consideration, you are using stapled cards! This is excellent, don't overlook it!
Stapled Stunner (Richard Kaufman)
You ask a spectator to staple two jokers back-to-back, which they do. A spectator then selects and signs a card which is shuffled into the deck. You make a "magical gesture" and then rip one of the jokers off of the stapled pair and, lo and behold, their card is seen to have been sandwiched in between the two jokers that the spectator stapled! This is pretty cool but one thing about it just seems a bit "not right", if you know what I mean. I'm a bit torn on this one, what do you guys think about it? (Directed at the people who own it)
Ken Krenzel's Version (Ken Krenzel)
This is Ken Krenzels's Version of the effect (of course). In this version Ken uses a stabled business card and makes it visually attach to the spectator's signed selection. This one is a killer give-away and is something that I could see myself performing. It's practical and the main move can be substituted for other similar moves (You'll see what I mean when you read it). Probably my second favorite or favorite version of this line of effects.
Circular Spell (Jonathan Townsend)
Another darn spellbound change. You make a circular magic pass over a copper coin and it changes to a silver coin. I personally can't stand the spellbound plot and I've never understood it. It just seems like one of those plots that magicians love to obsess over and come up with hundreds of methods that all accomplish the same thing. My opinion aside, it's a fairly good change. Looks nice, but it will take some practice to make it look really smooth.
Monte Plus Plus (Ken Krenzel)
This is the improvement I was talking about last week for the Monte Plus effect. The working is about the same but the small(?) improvement makes the effect SO much better. Oh, and also a bent corner is added to effect that gives it more depth. It still doesn't seem like a routine by itself. Learn Monte Plus and then immediately learn this. You'll be glad you did!
Columns:
Unlabelled Columns
Harry Summarizes his trip to the Eddie Fetcher close-up convention
Tidings
A conversation between two unnamed magicians talking about a mentalist putting down other mentalists for the sake of making himself look better. Also, writing about more exposure in a magazine, a story about a performance of The Two Card Trick, and a short credit for Kenomental and a death notice.
Closing:
(Wipes sweat off head) I almost was late, but I delivered! :D I had another paper to do for science so I was doing that most of today and yesterday and I had some other things to do so I *almost* had to push it back, but I got it out anyway! Now I just have to study for that Latin test...
If you have any comments, as usual, just write them below. I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have about the effects.
Four aces are shown and the spectator thinks of one of the aces. The spectator names the ace he is thinking of and when the magician spreads the aces, the one that they named is now face up. This is repeated again, and possibly, again. The explanation for this effect is quite large and may seem complicated at first, but it really is a pretty fast effect and a direct effect. It's certainly a nice lead-in to a Twisting The Aces effect, or just as a middle piece in an ace routine. Make sure you practice this effect many times before doing the effect for live people because you need to be very familiar with the actions of the routine. It requires no table space, it's quick, it only uses four aces, I really like it.
Slippery Silver (Geoff Latta)
Four coins one at a time travel across to the other hand. It's a simple effect accomplished in a good way. Let me reiterate, I am NOT a coin worker so I haven't even tried this out. From what I read of it, it looked like a pretty good clean handling of a coins across, but nothing earth-shattering. You need a standard coin gaff which, if you "do" coins, you will most likely have.
Staple and Stab (Paul Harris & Looy Simonoff)
A spectator selects and signs a card which is lost into the pack. Two back-to-back stapled jokers are displayed and given to the spectator who stabs them into the deck. When he looks at the card next to the stapled jokers it is seen to be a joker with staple holes and all! The spectator turns over the stapled cards and now their SIGNED card is stapled to the joker! I love this effect! I think it's simple, surprising, original, memorable, different etc. You get the point! Obviously there are some practicality factors that have to be taken into consideration, you are using stapled cards! This is excellent, don't overlook it!
Stapled Stunner (Richard Kaufman)
You ask a spectator to staple two jokers back-to-back, which they do. A spectator then selects and signs a card which is shuffled into the deck. You make a "magical gesture" and then rip one of the jokers off of the stapled pair and, lo and behold, their card is seen to have been sandwiched in between the two jokers that the spectator stapled! This is pretty cool but one thing about it just seems a bit "not right", if you know what I mean. I'm a bit torn on this one, what do you guys think about it? (Directed at the people who own it)
Ken Krenzel's Version (Ken Krenzel)
This is Ken Krenzels's Version of the effect (of course). In this version Ken uses a stabled business card and makes it visually attach to the spectator's signed selection. This one is a killer give-away and is something that I could see myself performing. It's practical and the main move can be substituted for other similar moves (You'll see what I mean when you read it). Probably my second favorite or favorite version of this line of effects.
Circular Spell (Jonathan Townsend)
Another darn spellbound change. You make a circular magic pass over a copper coin and it changes to a silver coin. I personally can't stand the spellbound plot and I've never understood it. It just seems like one of those plots that magicians love to obsess over and come up with hundreds of methods that all accomplish the same thing. My opinion aside, it's a fairly good change. Looks nice, but it will take some practice to make it look really smooth.
Monte Plus Plus (Ken Krenzel)
This is the improvement I was talking about last week for the Monte Plus effect. The working is about the same but the small(?) improvement makes the effect SO much better. Oh, and also a bent corner is added to effect that gives it more depth. It still doesn't seem like a routine by itself. Learn Monte Plus and then immediately learn this. You'll be glad you did!
Columns:
Unlabelled Columns
Harry Summarizes his trip to the Eddie Fetcher close-up convention
Tidings
A conversation between two unnamed magicians talking about a mentalist putting down other mentalists for the sake of making himself look better. Also, writing about more exposure in a magazine, a story about a performance of The Two Card Trick, and a short credit for Kenomental and a death notice.
Closing:
(Wipes sweat off head) I almost was late, but I delivered! :D I had another paper to do for science so I was doing that most of today and yesterday and I had some other things to do so I *almost* had to push it back, but I got it out anyway! Now I just have to study for that Latin test...
If you have any comments, as usual, just write them below. I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have about the effects.
November 19, 2009
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.5
Noah's Mix Up! (Gene Castillon)
Five red backed cards and five blue backed cards are shown. Each card has an animal sticker on its face. You ask two spectators to each think of an animal from the card set they were given. They mix the cards, you mix the cards, and somehow, you are able to tell them the animal they're thinking of! This is pretty cool, and even though the animal stickers may seem childish, there's some great presentation ideas that could revolve around those stickers. Something about how you were going through a box of old stuff from when you were a kid; think about a happy thought from your childhood, these stickers will get you in the childlike state, etc. I imagine this having a good effect on an audience. It's like an ESP card trick but more fun. Obviously, you'll have to decide if it fits your performing style.
Hi Ho Silveroon! (Ken Krenzel)
A card is selected and lost into the deck. A coin is placed on top of the deck and vanished in a very convincing way. You cut the deck and the coin has arrived at the selected card. This is a variation of Paul Harris's "Hi Ho Silver." There aren't any huge differences between the two from what I can tell. The vanish is a nice one, and if you put this into a larger routine, this can be good.
Zigs and Zags (Herb Zarrow)
A spectator thinks of a card at a certain position and the magician does the same thing in the other half of the deck. Both you and the spectator deal to your cards and they transpose. Sounds confusing, doesn't it? Well to be honest, I think it is a little confusing. If you're going to make two cards transpose, why not just show two cards, and make them change places? Instead you have to have a spectator think of the position as well as the name of their card, and your card is not even shown...you get my point. In my opinion, it's just a little too confusing. It would take a very good performer to present this right.
A Bird in the Hand (Sol Stone)
I am not a "coin guy" at all, so I can't compare this to any similar routines or give you the difficulty level on a lot of coin routines. I find most all coin routines to be very difficult for me! So, I'll just describe this effect and give you the stripped down details of it. A silver dollar is split into two half dollars, and then melted back into one silver dollar. That's it. It's a quick effect that you might want to incorporate into a larger routine, or just do it as a "quick trick." There are no gimmicks, and it's based on one fairly simple move.
Dream Deck Switch (Richard Kaufman)
Sorry guys, this is not the perfect deck switch that you all have been trying to find for so long. This is a supposed expose of a deck switch that "a gambler might use under fire." In effect you show a red deck and a blue deck. The blue deck is placed into your pocket and the red deck is on the table. You spread the red deck and when you square it up you, apparently, switch the decks at lightening speed. Now in your hands is the blue deck and in your pocket is the red deck! All can be examined. You have to be standing at a table to do this. It is a startling routine that makes sense and is just good overall. What a great routine this is!
Marksmanship Bill(et) Switch (Dennis Marks)
This is a switch to be used for folded dollar bills (in eighths) or similarly sized billets. It can also be used for coins, although it is harder to execute using coins. This is very nice, and it is great for switching in a flash bill, or for a serial number reading of a bill. And as I said, you can use it with billets, so all you mentalists may find this useful. There is no TT and no folding like the $100 bill switch. This really is a wonderful switch that I will definitely practice up on and put into my "bill switch toolbox."
Columns:
Out To Lunch
Harry tells a story about a bill to lemon routine that he once saw and he also shares his way that he used to make tips "back in the day." Honestly, you could use his approach in a restaurant today!
Additions
Gene Castillon provides several tips to avoid making a mistake when performing Noah's Mix Up. Read this addition if you are going to perform Noah's Mix Up, because it will help you avoid any potentially embarrassing situations.
Tidings
A bunch of upcoming(?) books are listed and comments are made about them. It's slightly useless now, but it still is fun to read.
Closing:
If you are a mentalist, there are two good effects that you can use in this issue, which I think is quite good. Zigs and Zags, as I said earlier, seems confusing to me. Let me know what you think about it, because I feel like maybe I just don't "get it."
We're five weeks into this series and I'm going strong! To be honest, I wasn't sure whether I would get past the first one!
As always feel free to leave your comments about Zigs and Zags, or just anything else, below.
Buy Apocalypse!
Past Review Directory:
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.1
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.2
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.3
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.4
Five red backed cards and five blue backed cards are shown. Each card has an animal sticker on its face. You ask two spectators to each think of an animal from the card set they were given. They mix the cards, you mix the cards, and somehow, you are able to tell them the animal they're thinking of! This is pretty cool, and even though the animal stickers may seem childish, there's some great presentation ideas that could revolve around those stickers. Something about how you were going through a box of old stuff from when you were a kid; think about a happy thought from your childhood, these stickers will get you in the childlike state, etc. I imagine this having a good effect on an audience. It's like an ESP card trick but more fun. Obviously, you'll have to decide if it fits your performing style.
Hi Ho Silveroon! (Ken Krenzel)
A card is selected and lost into the deck. A coin is placed on top of the deck and vanished in a very convincing way. You cut the deck and the coin has arrived at the selected card. This is a variation of Paul Harris's "Hi Ho Silver." There aren't any huge differences between the two from what I can tell. The vanish is a nice one, and if you put this into a larger routine, this can be good.
Zigs and Zags (Herb Zarrow)
A spectator thinks of a card at a certain position and the magician does the same thing in the other half of the deck. Both you and the spectator deal to your cards and they transpose. Sounds confusing, doesn't it? Well to be honest, I think it is a little confusing. If you're going to make two cards transpose, why not just show two cards, and make them change places? Instead you have to have a spectator think of the position as well as the name of their card, and your card is not even shown...you get my point. In my opinion, it's just a little too confusing. It would take a very good performer to present this right.
A Bird in the Hand (Sol Stone)
I am not a "coin guy" at all, so I can't compare this to any similar routines or give you the difficulty level on a lot of coin routines. I find most all coin routines to be very difficult for me! So, I'll just describe this effect and give you the stripped down details of it. A silver dollar is split into two half dollars, and then melted back into one silver dollar. That's it. It's a quick effect that you might want to incorporate into a larger routine, or just do it as a "quick trick." There are no gimmicks, and it's based on one fairly simple move.
Dream Deck Switch (Richard Kaufman)
Sorry guys, this is not the perfect deck switch that you all have been trying to find for so long. This is a supposed expose of a deck switch that "a gambler might use under fire." In effect you show a red deck and a blue deck. The blue deck is placed into your pocket and the red deck is on the table. You spread the red deck and when you square it up you, apparently, switch the decks at lightening speed. Now in your hands is the blue deck and in your pocket is the red deck! All can be examined. You have to be standing at a table to do this. It is a startling routine that makes sense and is just good overall. What a great routine this is!
Marksmanship Bill(et) Switch (Dennis Marks)
This is a switch to be used for folded dollar bills (in eighths) or similarly sized billets. It can also be used for coins, although it is harder to execute using coins. This is very nice, and it is great for switching in a flash bill, or for a serial number reading of a bill. And as I said, you can use it with billets, so all you mentalists may find this useful. There is no TT and no folding like the $100 bill switch. This really is a wonderful switch that I will definitely practice up on and put into my "bill switch toolbox."
Columns:
Out To Lunch
Harry tells a story about a bill to lemon routine that he once saw and he also shares his way that he used to make tips "back in the day." Honestly, you could use his approach in a restaurant today!
Additions
Gene Castillon provides several tips to avoid making a mistake when performing Noah's Mix Up. Read this addition if you are going to perform Noah's Mix Up, because it will help you avoid any potentially embarrassing situations.
Tidings
A bunch of upcoming(?) books are listed and comments are made about them. It's slightly useless now, but it still is fun to read.
Closing:
If you are a mentalist, there are two good effects that you can use in this issue, which I think is quite good. Zigs and Zags, as I said earlier, seems confusing to me. Let me know what you think about it, because I feel like maybe I just don't "get it."
We're five weeks into this series and I'm going strong! To be honest, I wasn't sure whether I would get past the first one!
As always feel free to leave your comments about Zigs and Zags, or just anything else, below.
Buy Apocalypse!
Past Review Directory:
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.1
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.2
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.3
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.4
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.4
Intro: Thanks for all the great feedback last week guys! It helps me feel like I'm writing to some one out there! I can't think of too much else to say so I'll just shut up and let you read on to the really good stuff!
Effects:
The Armchair Bowler (Max Maven)
A spectator plays an imaginary game of bowling in a chair you have up on stage. You ask them how many pins they knocked out. They name any number of pins, in this example, six pins. You ask them to reach under the chair and pull off the envelope that has been under them the whole time. They open it and on it is printed, "Six!" You can perform this in somebody's house, all the way to a full size stage show. It's a good piece of mentalism! It's not a closer, but it is something that I think people will remember if you present it right. You need to form a picture of a bowling alley inside people's minds. Bring them TO that bowling alley. Use some of those descriptive writing techniques that we all learn about in school, and you'll create a strong impression.
Quarters (Bob Hyans)
A card is fairly torn into four quarters and then from under those pieces of card, you produce four quarters (pun intended)! This doesn't appeal to me very much just because you have to rip up a card every time. It's certainly a good idea, and the whole "quarters" pun is cute, but most of the time I would probably use another four coin production, because of the practicality factor. It is non-gimmicked, so that's a plus. It also looks quite natural. If you don't mind tearing up the card, you'll like this.
Kenomental (Looy Simonoff)
This is a principle that can be used to create many effects. In one of them, a spectator marks a card and then REALLY shuffles it back into the deck. No crimps, palms, cops or anything. You immediately snap your fingers, and spread the card to show their card has vanished! You can even have the spectator count the cards; there are only 51! This principle is a situational effect because of one thing that is involved in the method (not a gimmick) that you most likely don't see everywhere you go. Restaurant workers could get some mileage out of this though. I can't say anymore about it because it would totally give away the method. I like it, but I couldn't use it a lot of times. P.S. No DST, can be a borrowed deck, no gimmicks, impromptu.
Marionette Coin Vanish (Ken Krenzel)
Essentially, four coins vanish from your hand. You'll see why it's called the "Marionette" Coin Vanish when you read the method. The entire vanish seems fair and motivated. This could take some time to work on the timing aspect of it and some of the movement, but it shouldn't be too terribly bad for you. I was able to get the feel for it pretty quickly. I wouldn't perform this as a standalone piece, but rather as part of a larger routine. I like it!
Hole Card (Trevor Lewis)
You show a playing card with a nickel size hole in it. You fold it and place a quarter inside, saying it won't go through the hole. You do the old puzzle where you bend the nickel and cause it to go through the hole. Then you do it again but this time you don't bend the card, and they see the quarter go right through the too-small hole. I haven't had time to this one out yet (even for myself!), but it does seem to have a good presentational line, which you'll see when you read it. I'm afraid this may come off more as a puzzle though. Also the card is not examinable, which I don't like because the card does happen to have a hole that the audience may be intrigued by. This didn't do much for me.
Gene Maze Predicts (Gene Maze)
A red deck and a blue deck are given to two spectators. They both shuffle their decks and take any five cards from their decks without looking at them. The decks are non-gimmicked and there are no stooges. The person with the red cards lays their cards in a row on the table, then the other person lays their blue cards on top of the red card row. You ask the spectator's to decide on which pair they would like. They choose a pair and the other pairs are shown. They contain indifferent cards, but the pair they selected turn out to be the same cards! This is a stunner! It really is a strong card trick/mentalism effect. The presentation is great and it's really fun to do for couples, saying how "connected they are", etc. Check this out, don't pass go!
Columns:
Unlabeled Columns
These weren't really columns, but more of asides within the magazine. We won't see this type of thing throughout the whole series. Ken Krenzel makes two good suggestions on the Two Card Trick by J.K. Hartman. Also, Harry shares a card cutting principle.
Editorial
A thought-provoking article on exposure that you should definitely read.
Tidings
Here's a funny/heart-breaking story about a magician exposing magic (and himself!) in an adult magazine. Also, a story about a man who took advantage of exposure and made his audience think he was one of the best magicians in the world.
Closing Thoughts
Gene Maze Predicts and Armchair Bowler were my absolute favorites in this issue, with Kenomental close behind. This was a good issue, but a lot of the material in this issue was a bit more situational, which is certainly not always a bad thing. All in all, another good issue.
And, as always, if you have anything to say, make sure to post it below.
Here is the link for Apocalypse.
Buy Apocalypse!
Past Review Directory:
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.1
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.2
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.3
Effects:
The Armchair Bowler (Max Maven)
A spectator plays an imaginary game of bowling in a chair you have up on stage. You ask them how many pins they knocked out. They name any number of pins, in this example, six pins. You ask them to reach under the chair and pull off the envelope that has been under them the whole time. They open it and on it is printed, "Six!" You can perform this in somebody's house, all the way to a full size stage show. It's a good piece of mentalism! It's not a closer, but it is something that I think people will remember if you present it right. You need to form a picture of a bowling alley inside people's minds. Bring them TO that bowling alley. Use some of those descriptive writing techniques that we all learn about in school, and you'll create a strong impression.
Quarters (Bob Hyans)
A card is fairly torn into four quarters and then from under those pieces of card, you produce four quarters (pun intended)! This doesn't appeal to me very much just because you have to rip up a card every time. It's certainly a good idea, and the whole "quarters" pun is cute, but most of the time I would probably use another four coin production, because of the practicality factor. It is non-gimmicked, so that's a plus. It also looks quite natural. If you don't mind tearing up the card, you'll like this.
Kenomental (Looy Simonoff)
This is a principle that can be used to create many effects. In one of them, a spectator marks a card and then REALLY shuffles it back into the deck. No crimps, palms, cops or anything. You immediately snap your fingers, and spread the card to show their card has vanished! You can even have the spectator count the cards; there are only 51! This principle is a situational effect because of one thing that is involved in the method (not a gimmick) that you most likely don't see everywhere you go. Restaurant workers could get some mileage out of this though. I can't say anymore about it because it would totally give away the method. I like it, but I couldn't use it a lot of times. P.S. No DST, can be a borrowed deck, no gimmicks, impromptu.
Marionette Coin Vanish (Ken Krenzel)
Essentially, four coins vanish from your hand. You'll see why it's called the "Marionette" Coin Vanish when you read the method. The entire vanish seems fair and motivated. This could take some time to work on the timing aspect of it and some of the movement, but it shouldn't be too terribly bad for you. I was able to get the feel for it pretty quickly. I wouldn't perform this as a standalone piece, but rather as part of a larger routine. I like it!
Hole Card (Trevor Lewis)
You show a playing card with a nickel size hole in it. You fold it and place a quarter inside, saying it won't go through the hole. You do the old puzzle where you bend the nickel and cause it to go through the hole. Then you do it again but this time you don't bend the card, and they see the quarter go right through the too-small hole. I haven't had time to this one out yet (even for myself!), but it does seem to have a good presentational line, which you'll see when you read it. I'm afraid this may come off more as a puzzle though. Also the card is not examinable, which I don't like because the card does happen to have a hole that the audience may be intrigued by. This didn't do much for me.
Gene Maze Predicts (Gene Maze)
A red deck and a blue deck are given to two spectators. They both shuffle their decks and take any five cards from their decks without looking at them. The decks are non-gimmicked and there are no stooges. The person with the red cards lays their cards in a row on the table, then the other person lays their blue cards on top of the red card row. You ask the spectator's to decide on which pair they would like. They choose a pair and the other pairs are shown. They contain indifferent cards, but the pair they selected turn out to be the same cards! This is a stunner! It really is a strong card trick/mentalism effect. The presentation is great and it's really fun to do for couples, saying how "connected they are", etc. Check this out, don't pass go!
Columns:
Unlabeled Columns
These weren't really columns, but more of asides within the magazine. We won't see this type of thing throughout the whole series. Ken Krenzel makes two good suggestions on the Two Card Trick by J.K. Hartman. Also, Harry shares a card cutting principle.
Editorial
A thought-provoking article on exposure that you should definitely read.
Tidings
Here's a funny/heart-breaking story about a magician exposing magic (and himself!) in an adult magazine. Also, a story about a man who took advantage of exposure and made his audience think he was one of the best magicians in the world.
Closing Thoughts
Gene Maze Predicts and Armchair Bowler were my absolute favorites in this issue, with Kenomental close behind. This was a good issue, but a lot of the material in this issue was a bit more situational, which is certainly not always a bad thing. All in all, another good issue.
And, as always, if you have anything to say, make sure to post it below.
Here is the link for Apocalypse.
Buy Apocalypse!
Past Review Directory:
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.1
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.2
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.3
November 10, 2009
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.3
Intro: This is the third in my weekly series of the Apocalypse project! One thing I wanted to say is that only about two people (Miniserb and Matthew) have been commenting about it. I know more people than that are reading them, so make sure to post some comments! What do you want to see in the future? Is the format good? Does this help you at all if you are already an owner of Apocalypse? Does it help the people who don't have Apocalypse? These are the things I want to know and more! That said, on with the review!
Effects:
Slydini Kills Time (Slydini)
You borrow a spectator's fancy watch and say you are going to pass it through the table. You slam it onto the table but instead of going through the table it smashes against the cold, hard wood with a horrifying crash. Your hand is lifted to reveal to the trouble spectator that his watch has somehow turned into your keys! You then stand up and cleanly reach into your pocket and remove his unscathed watch. This is such a fun trick to do after dinner and if you ever want to REALLY scare your spectator, this is great! No gimmicks and impromptu too.
Decking-Hofzinzer Deluxe (Jon Racherbaumer)
A card is selected and the aces are removed. As per the original Hofzinzer ace plot, the ace that matches the selection' suit turns face-up. You then cut the face-down ace packet into the center of the deck. You spread the deck on the table and all three aces that don't match the suit are face-up. The one ace that is face-down is turned over to reveal that it is the spectator's selected card. The missing ace is found in your pocket. I can see myself doing this quite a lot. I think with some good presentation you will have a winner of a card effect. There's also a good variation using two cards at the end of the description.
Grand Slam (Frank Garcia)
A magician shuffles and cuts the deck and then shows that he has controlled and found the thirteen spades to the top of the deck. He then hands the deck to the spectator who gives the deck a riffle shuffle. He has still maintained the thirteen spades on top. This requires a set deck that you can't really use for many other tricks. It's not gimmicked but requires some special things. To me if you're going to let a spectator shuffle a deck, why not let him do it however he wants and however long he wants. To me the effect is so short that I think it needs something else after it. I haven't tried this out yet so I don't know how it plays, but it's just not my cup o' tea. Harry and Richard really seem to like it though so you may like it.
The Strung Coin (Sol Stone)
A string which has been tied into a loop, as well as a chinese coin are displayed. The coin is then visibly linked onto the string, and then off again. This is a great, quick effect that you could easily add some other moves into, like Jay Sankey's "Leaving Home." Liam Montier also has a take on this plot, which you may want to check out. The switch in this is unique and a fooler. The whole routine is something that I think people will remember.
The Two Card Trick (Bro. John Hammon)
Two blue-backed cards are shown; the ace of spades and the queen of diamonds. You ask the spectator to name one of them. They name the queen of diamonds which you then cause to be the only card of the two that has a blue back. The ace has a red back. You explain that you lie a lot and actually the queen is the one with the red back, which you show. Then you show that they couldn’t have even picked the ace because both of the cards in your hand are queen of diamonds! This is a simple trick that, to be honest, I overlooked for a while. I still haven’t tried it out, but I do think it would have a good effect through a laymen’s eyes. It’s an easy routine that is pretty easy to follow, as well. Try it out (I’ll join you!)
Invisible Salt Extraction (Eric Meredith)
A half-full salt shaker is shown and then placed under a handkerchief on the table. You cup your hands over the handkerchief, and a steady small stream of salt starts to flow from them. This goes on until a big pile of salt is on the table and your hands are empty. You lift the handkerchief to show that now there is no salt inside. I love this effect! I think it’s something that will stick in your spectator’s heads for a long time! Obviously, this is an after-dinner type trick, so this may not work in some venues, but in the right circumstances, it’s a killer!
Columns:
Lorayne Storm
Harry tells a funny story about a thumbtip breaking during a performance!
Out To Lunch
This is the first in a series of columns about doing close-up magic for a living. It starts off with a story about the first table-side magician Harry Lorayne saw, and how he became himself.
Razzle Dazzle
Funny little story about a magician who had a lion devour an audience member in his act.
Tidings
An interesting way of doing J.K. Hartman’s “Goody Two Choose” from a reader, Harry tells about a session with Slydini, an article about Paul Curry’s book Special Effects, an update on The Card Classics of Ken Krenzel, and finally a funny card in balloon dog routine!
Closing Thoughts:
I really liked this issue and I got a lot out of it! The columns were great, the tricks are high quality, it’s just a very good issue overall! I will use a bunch of the material in this one and I think you’ll like a lot of it too.
And once again, I’d like you to post your comments below! Seriously, I want feedback! Tell me if these suck, or if you like them, I don’t really care, just say something.
If you want to purchase Apocalypse, here is the link.
Buy Apocalypse for everything you saw in this review and TONS of other awesome effects!
Directory:
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.1
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.2
Effects:
Slydini Kills Time (Slydini)
You borrow a spectator's fancy watch and say you are going to pass it through the table. You slam it onto the table but instead of going through the table it smashes against the cold, hard wood with a horrifying crash. Your hand is lifted to reveal to the trouble spectator that his watch has somehow turned into your keys! You then stand up and cleanly reach into your pocket and remove his unscathed watch. This is such a fun trick to do after dinner and if you ever want to REALLY scare your spectator, this is great! No gimmicks and impromptu too.
Decking-Hofzinzer Deluxe (Jon Racherbaumer)
A card is selected and the aces are removed. As per the original Hofzinzer ace plot, the ace that matches the selection' suit turns face-up. You then cut the face-down ace packet into the center of the deck. You spread the deck on the table and all three aces that don't match the suit are face-up. The one ace that is face-down is turned over to reveal that it is the spectator's selected card. The missing ace is found in your pocket. I can see myself doing this quite a lot. I think with some good presentation you will have a winner of a card effect. There's also a good variation using two cards at the end of the description.
Grand Slam (Frank Garcia)
A magician shuffles and cuts the deck and then shows that he has controlled and found the thirteen spades to the top of the deck. He then hands the deck to the spectator who gives the deck a riffle shuffle. He has still maintained the thirteen spades on top. This requires a set deck that you can't really use for many other tricks. It's not gimmicked but requires some special things. To me if you're going to let a spectator shuffle a deck, why not let him do it however he wants and however long he wants. To me the effect is so short that I think it needs something else after it. I haven't tried this out yet so I don't know how it plays, but it's just not my cup o' tea. Harry and Richard really seem to like it though so you may like it.
The Strung Coin (Sol Stone)
A string which has been tied into a loop, as well as a chinese coin are displayed. The coin is then visibly linked onto the string, and then off again. This is a great, quick effect that you could easily add some other moves into, like Jay Sankey's "Leaving Home." Liam Montier also has a take on this plot, which you may want to check out. The switch in this is unique and a fooler. The whole routine is something that I think people will remember.
The Two Card Trick (Bro. John Hammon)
Two blue-backed cards are shown; the ace of spades and the queen of diamonds. You ask the spectator to name one of them. They name the queen of diamonds which you then cause to be the only card of the two that has a blue back. The ace has a red back. You explain that you lie a lot and actually the queen is the one with the red back, which you show. Then you show that they couldn’t have even picked the ace because both of the cards in your hand are queen of diamonds! This is a simple trick that, to be honest, I overlooked for a while. I still haven’t tried it out, but I do think it would have a good effect through a laymen’s eyes. It’s an easy routine that is pretty easy to follow, as well. Try it out (I’ll join you!)
Invisible Salt Extraction (Eric Meredith)
A half-full salt shaker is shown and then placed under a handkerchief on the table. You cup your hands over the handkerchief, and a steady small stream of salt starts to flow from them. This goes on until a big pile of salt is on the table and your hands are empty. You lift the handkerchief to show that now there is no salt inside. I love this effect! I think it’s something that will stick in your spectator’s heads for a long time! Obviously, this is an after-dinner type trick, so this may not work in some venues, but in the right circumstances, it’s a killer!
Columns:
Lorayne Storm
Harry tells a funny story about a thumbtip breaking during a performance!
Out To Lunch
This is the first in a series of columns about doing close-up magic for a living. It starts off with a story about the first table-side magician Harry Lorayne saw, and how he became himself.
Razzle Dazzle
Funny little story about a magician who had a lion devour an audience member in his act.
Tidings
An interesting way of doing J.K. Hartman’s “Goody Two Choose” from a reader, Harry tells about a session with Slydini, an article about Paul Curry’s book Special Effects, an update on The Card Classics of Ken Krenzel, and finally a funny card in balloon dog routine!
Closing Thoughts:
I really liked this issue and I got a lot out of it! The columns were great, the tricks are high quality, it’s just a very good issue overall! I will use a bunch of the material in this one and I think you’ll like a lot of it too.
And once again, I’d like you to post your comments below! Seriously, I want feedback! Tell me if these suck, or if you like them, I don’t really care, just say something.
If you want to purchase Apocalypse, here is the link.
Buy Apocalypse for everything you saw in this review and TONS of other awesome effects!
Directory:
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.1
Apocalypse Vol.1 No.2
October 22, 2009
Book Review: On Mephisto's Shoulder
Intro: I will be upfront about the fact that I received this book for free in a contest; however, I do not know Paul Brook at all. We have never met or spoken to each other online. This is a completely unbiased review that is of my opinion only. That being said, let's get on with the review!
Where You Can Purchase This: http://www.paulbrook.co.uk/heknows/oms.htm
Price: $60
What They Say:
Okay, so onto my review of each effect in the book. First up we have...
Dearly Departed: This exceeded, high and above, my expectations that I had for it. This is an effect that can make a grown man cry. Read that last sentence again. It is that powerful. It is definitely something that takes time to perform and should not be rushed. As it said in the description, you have to wait a week after you give the spectator the photograph and then perform it. This is probably something you would only perform with a very small group. It would, technically, work on stage, but you would never want to. You'll see why when you get the book. I heard someone else on another forum say this and I will agree with them, they said, "If I could go back in time to when I wasn't a magician and have one effect performed for me, it would be this one." The psychology behind the effect is brilliant this effect should not be overlooked by the simplicity of the method. This effect can affect a person in an extremely strong way. 10/10
Telepathic Touch: Another brilliantly simple effect to perform that will strongly affect your audience. Once again, the psychology and boldness of the routine is so wonderful and really makes the routine special. This seems like it is the real thing when performed right and it is sure to be a favorite of the book among many mentalists/magicians. The effect is so easy to perform a trained monkey could do it. There are no sleights, but again, it will take some performance chops to make this thing look real, otherwise it will come off as a cheap card trick. 9/10
Fair is Fair Switch: This is a billet switch where you never touch the billet, really. You do have to make a simple gimmick that doesn't take very long to make. Oh, and once you have made it, you won't have to make another gimmick for a long time. Plus, it won't require you to buy any strange materials, most likely. And if you do it will only cost you like $3. It is actually quite simple and it does appear very, very fair. It will not always be appropriate to use this billet switch, but when you can, it will be extremely effective. There isn't much else to say about it so I give it a 8.5/10
Your Word, Corinda! This effect is an advancement of a routine in 13 Steps To Mentalism that uses the Fair is Fair Switch and has some psychological advancements as well. Basically, a spectator writes down a page number, line number, and word number on a piece of paper. It is brought up onto stage without you ever touching it and then a spectator opens up a selected book to the corresponding page/line/word that the audience member wrote down. Sure enough the word matches your prediction that is in an envelope and laminated. It is kindle bold, but I don't think it would present any problems. Personally, I'd rather just do a thenceforward type book test, not this type. If you like the premise, then you will really love this effect and perform it. It appears, again, very fair and out of your hands. Just because I'm not a fan of the premise, I give it a 8/10
Serial Killer: OK, when I read the hype and saw the demo, I thought, that could not happen without some kind of pre-show. I thought there must be a gimmick or some mirror or accomplice or something! Well, what you read and what you see in the demo is exactly what you get. Like I said, no gimmicks, no stooges, no peeking, no writing down, you never touch the bill, etc. This is the best serial number reading I have ever seen. That being said, you cannot use it in all environments. I obviously can't go into detail, but this is more of the type of thing you would do to get booked rather than after you have gotten booked. You'll see what I mean when you read the book. Anyway, this will get you booked. This is about the most amazing thing you could do to someone and they will not forget it. Try to perform this as often as you can, and you'll be getting booked very, very often. It's pure genius and I love it! 10/10
On Stage Killing: Well, just read the description. IMO there is no need for this and I don't think it would be something that I or anybody else would really want to do. It's not bad, it just seems unneeded. I don't really want to give a rating on this because it is more of just an optional add-on to Serial Killer.
Final Thoughts:
As I said in the beginning, I did receive this book for free, however, if I had paid the full $60 for this book, I truly believe that I would've been just as happy. The psychology in each of these effects is excellent. He gives you lots of subtleties and different options at the end of each effect. These are A+ effects and you can tell that he has thought out, and used in the "real-world", all of the items contained within the pages of this book. It has my highest recommendation, and I think you will be very pleased with your purchase.
Overall Rating: 9.5/10
Where You Can Purchase This: http://www.paulbrook.co.uk/heknows/oms.htm
Price: $60
What They Say:
A number of strong and eerie effects that will put your spectators on edge!
Effects Include :
Dearly Departed:
A volunteer is given a sealed envelope and a photograph of a dead person; they are to look at the photograph at any opportunity they can for a week.
After the week has passed the volunteer makes a time prediction. Once the prediction is made the envelope is opened to reveal a death certificate showing a time of death for the person in the photograph that matches their prediction.
Telepathic Touch:
You explain that a single touch is enough to change destiny if we allow it to. A sealed envelope is handed to a person to keep safe. You look into the eyes of a volunteer and touch their shoulder. A deck of cards is then displayed openly and fairly and four cards are selected randomly by this person, without you touching the cards. Each card is placed into an envelope and numbered.
Another person is asked to join the two of you. The first spectator touches the new spectator in the same way you touched them. The new spectator chooses any envelope they want, when the envelope is opened the card is displayed and eerily matches the card within the envelope that you handed out to a neutral party from the start.
Fair is Fair Switch:
A wonderfully fair and deceptive way of switching billets.
"Your Word, Corinda!":
An evolution of "My Word!" by Corinda, using the 'Fair is Fair' Switch and other astonishing methods.
Serial, Killer!:
You approach a person that you have never met before, you ask them to take out a bank note while you turn away. You never touch them, their belongings or the note, yet you can tell them the unique serial number on the bank note.
Watch a video of this effect by clicking here.
On Stage Killing:
A large scale variation of "Serial, Killer!" with a surprise Revelation that proves the serial number prediction was made days before.
Unique psychological subtleties are included for each effect, to the in-depth standard now expected from Paul.
BONUS: Interview with James Brown, the Magic Circle's close-up magician of the year 2006.
136 page, perfect bound soft cover book.
Okay, so onto my review of each effect in the book. First up we have...
Dearly Departed: This exceeded, high and above, my expectations that I had for it. This is an effect that can make a grown man cry. Read that last sentence again. It is that powerful. It is definitely something that takes time to perform and should not be rushed. As it said in the description, you have to wait a week after you give the spectator the photograph and then perform it. This is probably something you would only perform with a very small group. It would, technically, work on stage, but you would never want to. You'll see why when you get the book. I heard someone else on another forum say this and I will agree with them, they said, "If I could go back in time to when I wasn't a magician and have one effect performed for me, it would be this one." The psychology behind the effect is brilliant this effect should not be overlooked by the simplicity of the method. This effect can affect a person in an extremely strong way. 10/10
Telepathic Touch: Another brilliantly simple effect to perform that will strongly affect your audience. Once again, the psychology and boldness of the routine is so wonderful and really makes the routine special. This seems like it is the real thing when performed right and it is sure to be a favorite of the book among many mentalists/magicians. The effect is so easy to perform a trained monkey could do it. There are no sleights, but again, it will take some performance chops to make this thing look real, otherwise it will come off as a cheap card trick. 9/10
Fair is Fair Switch: This is a billet switch where you never touch the billet, really. You do have to make a simple gimmick that doesn't take very long to make. Oh, and once you have made it, you won't have to make another gimmick for a long time. Plus, it won't require you to buy any strange materials, most likely. And if you do it will only cost you like $3. It is actually quite simple and it does appear very, very fair. It will not always be appropriate to use this billet switch, but when you can, it will be extremely effective. There isn't much else to say about it so I give it a 8.5/10
Your Word, Corinda! This effect is an advancement of a routine in 13 Steps To Mentalism that uses the Fair is Fair Switch and has some psychological advancements as well. Basically, a spectator writes down a page number, line number, and word number on a piece of paper. It is brought up onto stage without you ever touching it and then a spectator opens up a selected book to the corresponding page/line/word that the audience member wrote down. Sure enough the word matches your prediction that is in an envelope and laminated. It is kindle bold, but I don't think it would present any problems. Personally, I'd rather just do a thenceforward type book test, not this type. If you like the premise, then you will really love this effect and perform it. It appears, again, very fair and out of your hands. Just because I'm not a fan of the premise, I give it a 8/10
Serial Killer: OK, when I read the hype and saw the demo, I thought, that could not happen without some kind of pre-show. I thought there must be a gimmick or some mirror or accomplice or something! Well, what you read and what you see in the demo is exactly what you get. Like I said, no gimmicks, no stooges, no peeking, no writing down, you never touch the bill, etc. This is the best serial number reading I have ever seen. That being said, you cannot use it in all environments. I obviously can't go into detail, but this is more of the type of thing you would do to get booked rather than after you have gotten booked. You'll see what I mean when you read the book. Anyway, this will get you booked. This is about the most amazing thing you could do to someone and they will not forget it. Try to perform this as often as you can, and you'll be getting booked very, very often. It's pure genius and I love it! 10/10
On Stage Killing: Well, just read the description. IMO there is no need for this and I don't think it would be something that I or anybody else would really want to do. It's not bad, it just seems unneeded. I don't really want to give a rating on this because it is more of just an optional add-on to Serial Killer.
Final Thoughts:
As I said in the beginning, I did receive this book for free, however, if I had paid the full $60 for this book, I truly believe that I would've been just as happy. The psychology in each of these effects is excellent. He gives you lots of subtleties and different options at the end of each effect. These are A+ effects and you can tell that he has thought out, and used in the "real-world", all of the items contained within the pages of this book. It has my highest recommendation, and I think you will be very pleased with your purchase.
Overall Rating: 9.5/10
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