Ask Me About Magic

[kwilkinson]

N--


Why didn't you tell us you had fuckin newspaper articles and ****.
Wash Post, Baltimore Sun, this is fuckin schweet.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...071201489.html

How can you have newspaper articles but only 1 video. Get on that ****.

 

[poppies]

What do you think of Cyril Takayama's work? Is it true that he uses alot of advanced technology in his tricks and/or is this standard fare now for famous magicians?

 

[Connemara]

Why are 100% of magicians gay?

 

[Thomas]

Originally Posted by Connemara

Why are 100% of magicians gay?

Talk about projecting yourself onto others.

 

[Nouveau Pauvre]

Originally Posted by poppies

What do you think of Cyril Takayama's work? Is it true that he uses alot of advanced technology in his tricks and/or is this standard fare now for famous magicians?

I love Cyril. I think he is better at being Criss Angel than Criss Angel is.

I can't speak to his methods, but many of us do employ complex technologies to aid and abet our work. I am quite proud to avoid these sorts of things, though. Personally I only employ the tricks of the mind and the hands! I could do much of my act naked, in fact.

 

[Mauby]

Originally Posted by Connemara

Why are 100% of magicians gay?

Man, things have changed. When I was in college, we'd ask why do 100% of magicians have fine women?

 

[whodini]

What is Derren Brown?

 

[oDD_LotS]

Where is my missing Scotch & Soda? I was joking around with the half dollar (doing a retention vanish) and dropped it somewhere in my car. I just opened it. (that's kind of a question about magic)

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by holymadness

Who is the longhair next to Lesko? It looks androgynous, but in spite of the earring and feminine features, the flat chest, adam's apple, and hint of 5 o'clock shadow indicate that it's actually male. The oh-so-ironic post-Obama campaign t-shirt aside, is that a blazer with a hoodie attached to it?

i was scrolling down quickly and i thought it was another shot of conne. Then I scrolled back up and was like, wait...

Originally Posted by Magician

I love Cyril. I think he is better at being Criss Angel than Criss Angel is.

I can't speak to his methods, but many of us do employ complex technologies to aid and abet our work. I am quite proud to avoid these sorts of things, though. Personally I only employ the tricks of the mind and the hands! I could do much of my act naked, in fact.

please don't.

 

[Nouveau Pauvre]

Originally Posted by Connemara

Why are 100% of magicians gay?
Haha, I would say it's more like 20%, we are like 60% Jewish though, which is kind of odd...Houdini, Copperfield, Blaine, Angel all members of the tribe. (well not actually Angel, but his agent is)

Originally Posted by whodini

What is Derren Brown?
I lurv Derren Brown. For my money, the best magician straight up. He is a British performer, and had a very successful television show and live touring show across the pond. He combines his magic with hypnotism and creates some truly eerie, impossible feats.

 

[Mauby]

Card tricks usually don't do it for me, but I was forwarded this one. Checked it out and said "oh ****." How difficult is this to pull off?

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[Nouveau Pauvre]

^ Haha, that is literally one of the hardest possible things; a product of decades of study and practice. While I have studied sleight-of-hand extensively, and can accomplish many of those things I am not even close to the unforced elegance and raw mastery that Ricky Jay displays with a pack of cards. He was a student of the 20th century Master Dai Vernon, and is an expert on gambling, scams and cons, as well as an accomplished historian of magic; he also holds several Guinness records. Ricky Jay has had an ongoing collaboration with David Mamet and frequently performs or consults for movies and television where magic is present. If anyone has a chance to see his touring show it is well worth it, one of the best magic shows there is. (PM me if you are seriously interested in sleight of hand. A good starting place is Roberto Giobbi's Card College Light, or the venerable classic Hugard and Braue's Royal Road to Card Magic.)

 

[Mauby]

Originally Posted by Magician

^ Haha, that is literally one of the hardest possible things; a product of decades of study and practice.

While I have studied sleight-of-hand extensively, and can accomplish many of those things I am not even close to the unforced elegance and raw mastery that Ricky Jay displays with a pack of cards. He was a student of the 20th century Master Dai Vernon, and is an expert on gambling, scams and cons, as well as an accomplished historian of magic; he also holds several Guinness records. Ricky Jay has had an ongoing collaboration with David Mamet and frequently performs or consults for movies and television where magic is present.

If anyone has a chance to see his touring show it is well worth it, one of the best magic shows there is.

Sweet. I'm glad to know this was an actual trick by a magician, and not some CGI clip. I've seen that guy on TV before, I think he may do some acting in addition to his magic. When I said "how difficult is this to pull off?" I meant for you, as a magician...not me. I barely have the dexterity to shuffle a deck of cards and make it look cool. Good to know about Ricky Jay, thanks.

 

[whodini]

Originally Posted by Magician

I lurv Derren Brown.

For my money, the best magician straight up. He is a British performer, and had a very successful television show and live touring show across the pond. He combines his magic with hypnotism and creates some truly eerie, impossible feats.
What I meant was is he more of a con than an "actual" magician? Some of the suggestion stuff I've seen him do just FEELS set up. Or at least that's what I tell myself while I watch.

I watched "The System" a few weeks back but figured out the punchline about ten minutes into it. Same with the execution of the final "surprise." There were a few things in between, though, that defied explanation.

 

[Nouveau Pauvre]

Originally Posted by whodini

What I meant was is he more of a con than an "actual" magician? Some of the suggestion stuff I've seen him do just FEELS set up. Or at least that's what I tell myself while I watch.

I watched "The System" a few weeks back but figured out the punchline about ten minutes into it. Same with the execution of the final "surprise." There were a few things in between, though, that defied explanation.

haha, I was surprised that you wouldn't know Derren Brown. I'm a little biased in my adoration of him, but I think he fits the definition of magician in the broadest sense. At the outset he lets us know everything is accomplished by trickery - which IMHO gives him a little leeway to play with us.

Yes, the more knowledgeable of us know that he is not accomplishing everything with hypnosis and suggestion, but he does genuinely use a lot of it in his work and nothing is stooged. I've been lucky enough to peruse some of his (extremely rare) earlier manuscripts, and while his methods may be more devious than he implies there are no prior setups with spectators.

His commitment to skepticism and his definition of himself as magician I think make him an honest liar at the very least.