Who Me?

The past couple of days I have been wondering what someone would think if they stumbled onto this blog. They would find a lot written about a very mundane topic. Me. I can’t imagine it would seem anything but boring and self-indulgent to anyone else. As I mentioned in the first post, this is really just a journal for me. I am trying to move myself up from a hack amateur to a competent sleight-of-hand artist. This requires a lot of self reflection. As a result, the focus of these postings is, well, of my discoveries, thoughts and progress. The rest of my life revolves around my kids, my wife, my students and my church. Writing this blog helps me discern, reflect and track my progress toward my goal. That is the only purpose of this blog. I am not trying to entertain or inform anyone about anything. For some reason I am more likely to journal my progress in this way. A notebook is too easily shoved under the bed or just plain ignored. But with this blog I feel more motivated to write. At any rate, I hope when the Spring arrives and my 36-week task is complete, I can write about magic and those who practice it instead of myself. Until then, if by chance you, person, friend, find yourself reading these words I beg your forgiveness. Please be patient with me. Soon enough I will change the focus away from myself toward magic in general. But for now I must confess these writings are serving the purpose well. I feel myself growing, becoming more self confident and more importantly, a better magician. This is so working for me.


Last August I was tinkering with Jim Tyler’s ring and string routine. (A real beauty). I picked it back up last week and have been trying to work out the rough spots. I planned on performing it the following Friday. By the time Thursday rolled around I had to make a choice. Should I perform the ring and string routine Friday or not. Mechanically, at least, I’ve got it worked out. But I just felt it needed more spit and polish to do it justice. It needed more work so I decided to let ring and string wait until next week. So on Friday I would perform “Card Warp” instead. Card Warp was one of my standards in the old days. The creator of Card Warp, Michael Weber, produces some of the most mind-blowing presentations imaginable. Years ago I devised my own finish to Card Warp. Not that it needed any other finish. But 4 out of 5 times people would make a request when I finished the trick. What I do does not necessarily make Card Warp a better trick. It just suits me better and as a result I get a huge return in entertainment value. So I brought it out of moth balls, as it were, cleaned it up, and added a bit business here and there for cohesiveness sake.



I was hesitant at first because I was afraid I was combining two effects. Card Warp and my own handling of a different effect. A very wise magician warns against doing this. And in my view, it is sound advice. I have never met Patrick Page but he has become my favorite magician. Patrick Page has the style and manner I most aspire to. I have adopted him as my own personal mentor. (Mr. Page had no say so in this matter)! I hope to someday attend one of his lectures or workshops. Until then, his books and other materials are mine to fetish and covet.


I digress. Mr. Page warns against combining effects, and I agree. Yet the response I got from my performances on Friday was astounding. The effect as I performed it seems stronger for me than Card Warp alone. And the finish I've come up with is not really something I would do as a stand alone effect. (Although I suppose one could). In fact, judging by the response I received from 5 different audiences, it may be one of the strongest close-up routines I perform. (Wasn't expecting that)!There is something else too. My handling of Weber’s Card Warp evolved over time. I’m sure I’m not the only one to think of handling Card Warp in this way. I’ll bet there are lots of pros out there that do. It’s just that over time I independently came up with a handling that answered the audience’s inevitable request. It also provides a mighty and totally unexpected wallop.

Since getting back into magic last August I have been working on perfecting my ability to perform classic routines of sleight of hand. I have been working from books by Vernon, Slydini, Hugard, Bobo, and Tarbell to name a few. I am so excited and having a fantastic time of it. But I was beginning to worry that I after so many years away from magic I might have lost my creativity. I’m glad I pushed and trusted myself to perform Card Warp as I visualized it. It really paid off.
If I am really lucky, I’ll get to meet Patrick Page someday. And if I ever do, I’ll perform this routine. I hope he would agree with me that I am not combining two effects so much as bringing a classic effect to a reasonable and entertaining conclusion. In the mean time, as a rule, I promise to never pull coins AND sponge balls from the same bagless purse. Or finish an “Ambitious Card” routine with “Card to Pocket” or “Wallet”.

Thought Penetration

Is it any wonder Dai Vernon is affectionately referred to as the Professor? What a mind! I wish I could have seen him perform. Fortunately there is video. Not to mention many, many books and manuscripts. Over the past two weeks I have been working on Vernon's “Penetration of Thought”. An incredibly brilliant bit of legerdemain. It was intended to be last week’s effect. However, one week was not enough time to do it justice. It took almost a week to work out the mechanics. It required another week or so to smooth it all out and make it fair and natural. That's the beauty and genius of Dai Vernon. All great Vernon effects have something thing in common. It is famously referred to as the “Vernon Touch”. It is handling that seems so natural that it appears to be a demonstration to the audience that “all is fair”. Genius. So in keeping with my soloemn oath to the master magicians both living and not, I will treat all effects with respect and perform nothing before I am convinced they would approve.


So what did I perform last week instead? An old stand-by called “Wonderbar”. That floating metal cylinder that lives in a test tube. Pretty effect, and a fine example of legerdelangue. It has always been a winner for me. After my 6th performance of it last Friday, the silvery bar was floating from hand to hand. That’s when the test tube rolled off the table, hit the floor and shattered into many tiny shards. No biggie. Being a science teacher has its benefits. Besides, the ‘ol bar of wonder bought me another week to get “Penetration of Thought” up to par.

The performances of “Thought Penetration” today were fantastic. The first performance was adequate but a little flat. This trick really needs build up and theater to drive the illusion home. By the last performance today I believe I have done the effect justice. As mentioned in an earlier post, my goal these days is to stay true to the advice of the masters. To be so well practiced and confident that the effects could be done practically blindfolded. In the old days I relied on luck or clumsy gestures for misdirection. But now that I have discovered the value of discipline and attention to detail, I am free. I am no longer a slave to good fortune and distraction. I’m not sending signals anymore that something is about to happen. Now that I am confident and have no need to watch my hands, everything is done conversationally. And as a result, effective misdirection, which eluded me in the past, is not as nebulous and mysterious to me as it once was.
Why, Oh why did I have to get old before I was able to grock this fundamental aspect of slight-of-hand. Oh well, better late than never. I will always remember that sign in a shop I saw last summer that triggered my leap back into magic.

“IT”S NEVER TOO LATE TO BE WHAT YOU COULD HAVE BEEN”!

Be Natural and Use Your Head

Now That I'm officially over the hill, I just can't believe how utterly blind I was as a young man. So many things that were hidden from me when I was younger are clear to me now. It is most powerfully true in my spiritual life. But it is also true for my family life, my professional life and even to my return to magic.
For example, I have owned Jean Hugard’s “Expert Card Technique” for 30 years. It is an essential book to be sure. But perhaps the best part is the last 3% of the book. There are several essays on misdirection, humor, presentation and the like that are gold. When the author speaks of the greats of magic he has these words: “…it is not the tricks they perform that are important, so much as the illusion they create about themselves”.


Hugard goes on to instruct the reader on the proper attitude and discipline required to become a respected and well-loved artist rather than just a guy that does tricks. Gold I tell you! As a young man I entirely ignored this section of the book. “Words”, I thought. “The dusty old fashioned words of a dead guy”. Then I’d continue riffling through the pages. “Tricks” I would have thought, “Must find more tricks”.


Another good example is chapter 2 of “The Dai Vernon Book of Magic”. “USE YOUR HEAD” The Professor instructs. Even when someone sat me down and handed wisdom to me on a crystal plate, I quickly forgot what little I listened to.


Case in point, I knew master magician Jim Cellini for a short time. He had great wisdom and advice for me. Unfortunately his gems and pearls bounced right off my knuckleheaded bean and fell to the floor like rejected pixie dust. One day at my job a young lady I worked with told me she was at a club owned by Cellini. She then told me about a visiting guest of the owner. "He was a funny old man with an accent". She said he was standing up on a chair doing a rope trick. “I was afraid he would fall off the chair” she said. “He was really funny, and the best magician I’ve ever seen”! “Dear God in Heaven” I thought, “Was his name…Slydini”?

“Yes” she said, “That’s it”. (Insert foul expletive here). If I had been paying attention to my life I could have spent the night sitting across the table and learning from TONY SLYDINI! One on one with the Grand Master of close up magic! And where was I instead? I was out with my drinking buddies. No doubt dropping tequila shots, releasing many yahoos and chasing women. A waste of time, money and energy on pointless revelry and foolishness. Say the words with me now... “Owha…Tafool…Iyam”…I have a permanent divot in my left buttock from 20 years of kicking myself in the ass!

I’m just grateful that today I have a little more sense. Because of my attention to the “dusty old words of dead (and living) magicians” My present (third) incarnation as a magician has so far been successful. Last week’s presentation of the Page/Cellini color changing handkerchief routine exemplifies my point. I heartily took the advice of Cellini, Hugard, Tarbell, LePaul and countless others including my newest hero Patrick Page. Mr. Page says…”Magic should be a performance. Otherwise it’s just a dry technical demonstration. So learn six tricks, practice them well and go out there and perform them!” I love this guy! So I followed the advice of the masters. My practice and confidence were such that I was able to focus on the audience and my by play with them instead of “pulling off a sleight”. I learned this from “The Importance of the Inconsequential” Hugard (Page 444), and From Dai Vernon, whose battle cry is..."Be Natural". This is new and exciting to me. Instead of watching my hands and worring, I was watching the smiles of the audience. There was joy in what I was doing because I was free perform the routine as though it was really magic. I could focus on my presentation persona like never before. And now that I can see it, I can develop it. The handkerchief routine could stand a bit of polish and refinement, but was very successful. But the bonus is even better. That is, I am now beginning to understand what Jim Cellini was trying to tell me long ago. I now understand how to move beyond the level of one who indulges in hoodwinkeries to the level of “artist”. This is my goal. It’s a lot more work. But the payoff is priceless. Will I ever get to that level? If I don’t, it won’t be for lack of trying.




The Passages on the mystique of magic from Hugard, Tarbell, Vernon or any other quality book on magic are often just as valuable as any of the effects therein. Such essays teach how to turn an ordinary trick into a miracle. They also show ways to influence how an audience responds to and remembers the magician long after the tricks are forgotten. I am taking the time and relishing the words of the Masters. I am learning now what I was not ready to learn as a young man. Be natural and use your head. Great advice for anything worth doing. The masters speak their wisdom. I will continue to listen with enthusiasm.

As with so many aspects of my life, I was blind, and now I see.

Two Giants

Many years ago Master magician Jim Cellini taught me his color changing handkerchief routine. In his expert hands it was a beautiful thing to experience. For some reason I can’t imagine, that knowledge drifted into an old and dusty corner of my brain; All but forgotten. When I recently brought my old trunk down from the attic and opened it, I was overwhelmed with memories. Each item had a story. Every 10” ring, billiard ball, giant coin, plastic egg or sundry gimmick had been infused with my spirit from all the countless hours of practice and performance. Like the exuberant tail-wagging of happy dogs, I think they were pleased to see me too. Among the carefully boxed gaggle of thimbles, sponge balls, wands, silks and copper cups I spied my old dye tube.


I remembered Jim Cellini and the beautiful routine he taught me. The only problem was I couldn’t remember the handling! Oh well, I thought, in time…
Two weeks ago while surfing the web I ran across a gentleman I had never heard of before. Patrick Page. A Scottish magician of the highest caliber! There were videos of Mr. Page performing the most beautiful classic effects. His manner is enthusiastic, humble and very friendly. His timing and handling are as good as it gets. I also found a 4-part interview with him that was fascinating and motivational. Some very practical wisdom being shared in parts 3 and 4. This gentleman has precisely the kind of style, timing and naturalness I aspire to. I feel ignorant that I was previously unaware of him. Now however, he is my newest superhero! Patrick Page you are AWESOME!


In one of the videos he performs his handling of the color changing handkerchief. I can’t remember Jim Cellini’s routine that he taught me, so I don’t know how similar the two routines are. But Mr. Page reminded me of just how beautiful this effect is. So after seeing it performed by Patrick Page, I was once again inspired and motivated to work out the handling, practice it faithfully and perform it. The handling I'm using is not exactly the same as Mr. Cellini's or Mr. Page’s but probably a mix of both masters. Either way, the basics are of course the same.
When I was young I was okay with some degree of sloppiness. Okay, a lot. I figured misdirection and timing would carry me. (Most of the time it did since I performed mainly in bars)! Not anymore. My goal is to achieve nothing short of veteran professional quality. I may never fully reach that goal, but I’m giving it all I’ve got. Attention to every detail. Strive for naturalness. That's the stuff. I plan to perform this Page/Cellini conglomerate handling of the color changing handkerchief on Friday. Mr. Cellini, Mr. Page, I promise to make you proud!

Ambitious Reflection

Subjectivity is a remarkable thing. While we’re worried about the roast, the dog eats the mashed potatoes. So it is with magic. At least it is with me. Today I performed an ambitious card routine for 5 different groups of people. Each group numbered around 20. The performances went pretty well. All in all I’m satisfied with the outcome and adding this routine to my permanent repertoire. Great response. Highlight in blue!
I have been working on the classic pass for months. The main reason for working out this ambitious card routine was to execute the classic pass within it and see if I could pull it off. (I also use a turn-over pass in this routine). As far as I can tell, my classic pass is now audience ready. This is worth celebrating. The funny thing is, I was so caught up with the pass that I fumbled two double lifts!
For one error, I triple lifted. Not a problem. I showed the card anyway and "gave" it to a second spectator and declared we were having an observation test. A couple of changes take place ending with an indifferent card held by the first spector turning out to be his origional signed card. Thank heavens for the top change! I took the card back, did the tilt move and slid right back into the routine.
The other slip up was just sloppy handling. When I did a double lift and turn over, one of the cards slid a bit and the two or three closest people could see what I was up to. I just had to eat that one and keep moving. No big deal though since the next bit took off in another direction. The witnesses soon forgot what they saw.
This is a good lesson for me as I continue my work to become a competent sleight-of-hand artist. I thought since I was through the pass, I could relax. I got a little over confident and bungled a simple double lift. Twice. Everything worked out in my favor in the end so I’m not troubled by it. I will simply remember to never, ever take anything for granted. ;)