Fitzkee Trilogy

Now, first of all, this is not a magic review... this is a BOOK review. Now, to stay on topic, it so happens that the book is about magic (coincidence?  I think not!) 

The 3 books that influenced me the most as a magician

Now, as the famous Taiwanese Magician, Lu Chen, said in his book, "In magic it (The Trick Brain) is equivalent to a supreme kung fu tutorial. Read through it once and you'll gain an additional 10 years worth of experience."


And this is NO exaggeration. I merely read through it once... and it wasn't a very thorough read at that, and I felt like a different magician. From my performance, to my crowd awareness, everything became incredibly different afterwards. If I manage to read and understand and then IMPLEMENT everything, I believe that I could become a first class magician and perform in FISM and all that stuff. 


Anyways, first of all, an introduction of the author. (No, seriously, if you're still expecting magic at this point, go shoot yourself in the face. Like seriously, you probably hate life anyways or something)


Dariel Fitzkee (May 14, 1898- April 6, 1977) was originally an engineer and a semi-professional magician. However, his trilogy is considered by many, including yours truly, as the most important series published in magic. First of all, this guy is a total baller. There's no doubt about it. He is the guy to put magic in all its categories that are STILL USED TODAY. So basically, he's like Charles Down (creator of Dow Jones Index) as he basically gathered just about all the magic in the world and shoved them into 19 different categories.


They are: 


1. Production
2. Vanish
3. Transposition
4. Transformation
5. Penetration
6. Restoration
7. Animation
8. Anti-gravity
9. Attraction
10. Invulnerability
11. Physical Anomaly
12. Sympathetic Reaction
13. Spectator Failure
14. Control
15. Identification
16. Thought Reading
17. Thought Transmission
18. Prediction
19. Extra Sensory Perception (ESP) 


Now, this is in 'The Trick Brain', which I found extremely useful in developing new magic and routines. 


to really p your actual performance, Showsmanship for Magicians is a must read. It will boost your level from a complete noob to... not so noob in just ONE reading!!! 


Alright, all jokes aside, this books will teach you everything from how to stand, walk, talk, laugh and even gesture. It will cover things from clothing to equipment, from your shoes to your hat, from your stage to the audience at the very far end of the room in which you are performing. 


Last but not least, Magic by Misdirection. Now, this is definitely something I recommend to anybody who is willing to make magic a serious hobby... you know that it's a serious hobby when you start blogging about it and you KNOW that nobody ever reads this shit. No, this book is REALLY good. Like REALLY REALLY REALLY good.


You know what, I can't stress how good this book is. However, this book made me go from a complete amateur to somebody that people think is a full time professional (not everybody... but I've been frequently questioned whether or not I do this as a full time profession... probably because it amazes them at how I'm able to make a living being so damn crap). 


Anyways, this book pretty much teaches you how to accomplish the impossible. It will go through pretty much every psychological weakness of a spectator and in turn, teaches you how to take advantage of it. This book is not only useful for magicians, it is also useful just for normal people. If you ever need to negotiate, or lie your way out of something, then surely, you will need this!

Weaknesses like this one

After using this, you could ask a girl out and make her think that she asked you out.


After reading this, you could go up to your foolish English teacher and get an additional 3 marks for all your papers.


After reading this, you could convince Bill Gates to let you take over Microsoft for a few years. 


(well... maybe not the last one but the first two are proven winners by me... and ignore the first one... don't ask)


Well... if I kiss Fitzkee's ass anymore, I'll have shit all over my face so I guess I'll stop here.


This has been a long yet satisfying blog entry. 


Again, I hope that you guys will take something interesting and useful from here.


So,... don't blink, don't breathe, just feel the magic!

And I'll see you guys in my next entry next week!


Next Review: Linking Cigarettes by Akira Fujii (I got the name this time!!!)

Jeopardy

Alright, I know I promised to find out who created the original effect of this trick BUT, the internet really has me puzzled on this. I mean, I even went through Dariel Fitzkee's trilogy again just to search but nothing came up.

So anyways... as usual, I would like it if anybody could tell me the name of the creator of the trick without putting me down too much for being the biggest noob at magic.

Anyways, a little history on how I came about this effect. I first watched it performed by Lu Chen on one of his weekly shows. I was so confused at that point that my entire head was probably in a state of 'dough' (yes, that is a new state outside of singularity, gas, liquid, solid and plasma). The tirck itself is amazing and the presentation was even better!

SO, being the ultra awesome gentleman that I am, I stole the routine...

I'm being quite honest here. I pretty much just copied him. I simply can't get any new ideas... or, more to the point, all my new ideas sucks and I don't like them.

Now, I WILL be performing this again under a new patter soon under the theme "Miracles from Hope". It's a donation event that both the Magic Society and the Red Cross society are co-hosting. Hopefully I can find enough inspirations after my small exams to figure out the details and find enough time to practice.

Now, you're probably bored by my ranting. So without further annoyance from me...


Effect: The effect is simple. The magician would first present his predictions and places it at somewhere that is visible the whole time. The magician then asks the AUDIENCE to mix up his cards in a fashion that completely messes up the order of the deck as well as the direction that the cards face. Afterwards, he then opens up his prediction and matches the conditions of the cards that the audience messed up.

Now, this is actually a 3 part performance. It's a routine that I called 'Destiny' due to the heavy prediction nature of the routine. I'm still working on the exact patters and the actual tricks itself. (The last one isn't as strong as I want it to be)

Anyways, I hope that you will have fun watching this. I most certainly had fun performing it. I still think that it's one of my best close ranged performances so far.


Spectator's View: Now, the interesting thing is that people often ask me to perform it again afterwards...

If you ever hear that. RUN! Because it will definitely work again! And that would freak the shit out of the audience.... so seriously. For once, I am not concerned about your safety (well... I never did concern myself with that... I was always concerned about exposure in magic).



Angles: This is 100% angle proof. IN fact, so angle proof that the spectators are going hands on! Now, you may wonder how this trick works... and I must say now that it's not all that easy... BUT it's not all that hard either... but I'll discuss that later.


 Overall: Now, the trick's difficulty, I would give a 4/10. There's really no sleights. You just need to make sure that you don't screw up the fundamentals. There's a bit of misdirection involved as well so yeah...

Now, for this trick as a whole, I give a very solid 90/100. I strongly recommend you go buy the trick somewhere and practice practice practice. This is DEFINITELY a reputation maker. I know that I personally LOVE this trick!


Next Review: Dariel Fitzkee's Trilogy

Triumph (review)

First of all, I know that I promised to review an awesome Magician  (Mirko), HOWEVER, I actually don't have all the time to check out all his info and nor could I find any performances other than his most recognised bubble routine at the IFSM. SO yeah, if you want to watch it, I have it favourited on my youtube page.

Again, this trick shows how noob I am. The lack of understanding of where the trick even originates from. To be honest, I am quite annoyed with myself, however, after googling something like Triumph magic etc. will usually lead to really weird and incorrect explanations of it on youtube.

Before I begin, again, I would like to say that this blog is for noobs only. Please do not waste your time reading this if you think that you are confident enough to choose your own tricks to learn or if you think that I am the big noob that I am. I am reviewing simple tricks for now, stuff like the Berglas Effect can come later when I'm a little more confident in my reviewing skills... or at least I get feedbacks that won't make me shit myself from embarrassment... that's right... if you get me too embarrassed, I will shit in your face! So don't do it!

Anyways, there are MANY variations of the 'triumph'. There are gaff'd and non-gaff'd versions of the trick. I mean, I personally prefer the non-gaff'd version, however, that is just a personal preference. I'm not saying that all of you must be like me and remain close-minded and bitter about life!

As usual, after around 20 minutes of rambling, I'm taking you to the effect.





Effect: The trick is simple, the effect is simple, everything is simple!

 So basically, from the video you could see that the spectator selects a card at random and then it gets shuffled into the deck. Now, unhappy with the current state of the cards, the magician makes his life around 26 times harder by offering to shuffle the cards up-side-down.

And men saw that it was leet!

So anyways, After some mumble jumble, the magician snaps his fingers, AFTER showing everybody that the cards are all mixed up, and turns the cards all the same side up.

Now... as if that isn't impressive enough as it is, the magician continues to show off by making one card appear face down. Which card? Why, of course it is the card that the spectator chose in the first place!

Anyways, my performance was a non-gaff'd version, I will now give a gaff'd version of the trick (courtesy of my friend David)

As you could see, using gaffs makes the trick look around 10x more leet.

So basically, the rule is that if you want to look awesome, use gaffs. :D


Spectator's View: Well, I have had mixed reactions for this trick. Some are unimpressed, some peed themselves a little.

SO yeah... later on, I realised that it was the way I presented the trick. People OFTEN care more about the performance than the actual effect. Again, I suggest following my principle of 30% magic and 70% performance.

Some really smart audience would obviously question everything but don't be scared, if you do this right, it's actually angle proof.

Speaking of angles, it brings us to...


Angles: This trick is ANGLE PROOF!!! Both versions are. If you are getting caught out, I suggest practicing with a friend and ask him/her to stare you down. Make sure that you can do this angle proof! This is very important. Because not only will it be well... you know... angle proof, it will also greatly improve the fluency at which you can perform this effect.


Overall: To be honest, I don't really like this trick. Well, not as much as the previous tricks that I have reviewed anyways.

SO, I will give this a 65/100. I mean sure, the effect looks good, I mean sure... you can do this with any ordinary deck, HOWEVER, the amount of work and risk you have to put in just to perform this isn't worth it.



Next Review: Jeopardy (by... I promise that I'll find out!)

French Kiss (by David Stone I believe)

Alright, first of all, I'm such a noob that I can't even be sure who created this trick. However, I CAN say that I also though up of something really similar by myself (yes, I'm bragging, sue me...).

I would also like to state here that this is one of the BEST trick for PICKING UP that I have ever came across. There are several others that gets you their phone numbers but most don't ever become as intimate as this.

I mean, it's really not a hard trick since the moves that you need for it is really quite simple. However, I believe that like all magic, the performance is the most important part of the effect. As long as you can perform it right, you can make even the simplest of tricks look absolutely pro.

now that I've rambled enough, here is the actual routine (my personal edition I would say) of the French Kiss

Effect: 

I actually couldn't sub it because I'm a huge noob, not only at magic but also at subbing so it would seem. SO, I am gonna promise you guys that I will definitely repeat this again in English some time soon and post it up asap.

Anyways, as you could see, the SIGNED cards swaps places when then are IN OUR MOUTHS!

Now, for the pros out there going like "Err... excuse me, but you don't need to touch the cards to get them to swap!", it's called performance you douche bags! But anyways, as you could see from the performance, the trick should basically be renamed, "This-Is-What-You-Should-Do-If-You-Want-To-Get-A-Girl's-Number".


Spectator's view: they will go FUCKING CRAZY!!!

I promise that afterwards, they will go ape-shit all over your ass! They will want you to perform more magic or at least to do the French Kiss again... (and I suppose this time, you could ask for a real kiss from her as a reward... I mean, I can't see a better time so why not?)

Anyways, what they will see is two cards, which are SIGNED, exchange locations in the safety of the performers' mouths. Which is pretty damn awesome in my opinion.

I mean, if you have this music playing when the kiss is going on, you pretty much nailed her. lol

I'm just saying... this is a VERSION of the French Kiss... doesn't have to be like this

Routine: I know that there are PLENTY of variations, some involving other equipment like smoke 2000 etc. but I kind of like mine. I think that it's pure and it's sweet. Go check out David Stone's version and Wayne Houchin's version if you want some comparison...

Now, before you all start going like, "I saw theirs and it's like 4 bajillion times better than yours!", allow me to kindly remind you that they are professionals who have been magicians for the past 20 years! I have been a magician for the past 2 years! There will definitely be differences! (Obviously, difference is that I'm better  lol)


Angles: I figured that for tricks, I'll call this part 'angles' from now on. I'll leave all the earlier posts so that future generations will know what I'm talking about... and also because I'm just that lazy.

ANYHOW, this is not all that angle sensitive. As you could see, I was performing surrounded in my video and nobody caught me out. I mean, I suppose that you would have to use a little bit of misdirection but then again... which successful magic doesn't need misdirection?


Overall: I absolutely LOVE this trick...

not because I can pick up girls with it (well... actually...) but because of the pureness of the effect.

Now, for those who have seen me use this word many times and is still wondering what I mean by purity, I am trying to say that the effect is not something that people would have to think hard to find that it is amazing. Like, levitation, most people would think that there are strings. So you would have to do all sorts of convincers to tell them that there are no strings. However, for tricks like this, the magic is just right there. There is no need for convincers. The effect is, as I call it, 'pure'.

Anyways, I give this trick a solid 89/100. One obvious failure is the inability for the audience to check the full deck after the trick. I mean, there are ways around it but that little bit, I really hate. So I'm gonna go ahead and slice 11 points off :p



Anyways, until next time (not tomorrow since Uni is starting and I have to do heaps of stuff but we'll see....)


Next Review: Famous Magician - Mirko (of Argentina)

Look forward to it, he's one of my favourite stage magicians :)

The Biddle Trick (by Biddle?)

First of all, I would like to say that if I mentioned that I'm only gonna review magic equipments... I lied...

Second of all, I seriously couldn't find out who invented this trick. I just know that it's called this after the name of the move, the Biddle Count (or maybe it's the other way around... either way, I can't find much of a history on  this trick)

Last of all, I'm uploading this entry today since I didn't do shit yesterday.

So before all you trolls out there start showing off your affection towards me in your special ways, allow me to start my review on this trick.

Effect: Well... it's really quite simple. A spectator chooses a card, puts it back in the deck. After shuffling, the magician tells the spectator that he managed to shuffle the card to the top HALF of the deck so he gives the the bottom half to check and keep. He then chooses 5 random cards from the top half he still has remaining and asks the audience to see whether or not one of the cards is theirs. One of them is (SUR-FUCKING-PRISE!!!)! He then gives the rest of the deck t the audience. He then counts the cards in his hand, still 5 cards. But after some magical shit happens, a card disappears (again... surprise!!!)

and then finally..... the card appears in middle of the audience's pile of cards that HE HAD BEEN HOLDING ONTO THE WHOLE TIME!

well... they say that a picture is worth a thousand words... and at 24 frames per second, my video is certainly gonna be worth a lot more.

Enjoy!

So there we have it, the Biddle Trick! :D


Spectator's View: ZOMG!!!! That was probably gonna be my first reaction when I first saw the trick if only it wasn't done so poorly.  However, I had been a magician for a while by then and could see through most misdirections. so yeah... However, to laymen, this trick is fantastic!!!


Design (in this case, Routine): I use it as an opener. I don't really use a strong patter with it unless it's for some festival but even then, I like the pureness of this effect. I think that a strong patter would ruin it.


Care: I would like to state that 'care' for tricks and 'care' for equipments is different. Anyways, this trick is not really angle sensitive. I have performed this trick surrounded countless times. In fact, I think that it's a better trick than the ambitious card in terms of angle sensitivity.


Overall: A VERY strong opener. I personally use it as a opener almost every single time I perform street magic. It can get the crowd warmed up enough so that even if you start rambling random crap, they'll think that it's pure gold. I give it a solid 90/100 for this trick. The cons of this trick is that despite the pure and strong effect, some audiences can be lost while you are performing. So just watch out for that :)



that's all for today!


Next Review: French Kiss (In my opinion, the ULTIMATE trick for picking up girls) (HOWEVER, my video will be in Chinese so yeah... I'll try to sub it before I post it up)

Bicycle Cards (by the US Card Manufacturing Company)

Now.... where do I start? This is one of the most popular card type in the world and is used and celebrated by all magicians. It is a staple in a magician's list of cards and most of them have at least 3 boxes of them at home (I used to... but then Is tarted a card using spree).

I will first of all list the things the cards are good for:

1. Playing
2. Manipulation (obviously not as good as proper manipulation decks but fro $2, it's VERY good)
3. Burning (actually... it's quite hard to burn... like, I throw it in fire and it just doesn't fucking burn... but we can pretend can't we?)
4. Ripping
5. Controlling
6. Fanning
7. Signing
8. Folding
9. Eating (I joke! Though i did NEARLY swallow one before during practice. I'm telling you, those things go down easy if you fold it up and have in in your mouth for anything over a minute)


Now... this review won't follow the usual order since bicycles are so damn awesome!

Anyways, here are some pictures for them (not mine obviously but still awesome)

The box of the blue and red bikes

An awesome angle from the side looking at the backs of the cards

I'll be covering the different types in later blog entries.

To be honest, this is quite a stupid review (and if you agree with me, you're also stupid... so... umm...... yeah....)

But yeah, if you perform magic and don't really like to use tally-ho cards... Bicycles are the way to go for you :)

well, that's all for this time!



Next Review: The Biddle Trick (a great opener for street magic. I used it countless times and still get great reactions from it)

Disappearing Water (by... I don't know >.>)

Again, this happens to be one of the magic tricks that I'm not really sure about the name ('OMG Saffie! What a noob!!! You suck!!!': You. Well you know what? You suck too!). However, I am sure that you'll like it and it's something that you won't forget once you look at it because it is simply that interesting and awesome!

So for simplicity sake, I will simply call it Disappearing Water... or dw for short.

So dw, I've got this! (omg... I'm so lame... *cries in a corner*)

ANYWAYS, since I've rambled enough and I'm also pretty sure that yOu'd liket o see some magic!

Effect: 

As you could see, I made the water disappear WITHOUT touching the cup!!!


this is the absolute STRENGTH of the effect!

(PS for the part where people were laughing, I was drinking the water in my cup when the guy wasn't looking... Shen just didn't film it right! That's right! I blame you shen! Because I think that you won't bash me!)



Handling: Hmm... Here's something really tricky. I can say for now that the gimmick takes practice to use. Once you know your limits and ratios, you should be fine! I mean, not he easiest but definitely not hard either.

I'd give it a 4.5/10 on the same as as I was using before


Spectator's View: WTF?! Is the first reaction I got from the guy performing with me (as you could see from the vid). Now the icing ot the cake is that the audience THINKS that they know what's going on. You're drinking the water while making the other guy make a fool of himself.

HOWEVER, they also get in on the surprise when the helper's cup becomes waterless. So I'm gonna say that this gave a VERY strong impact. I first came to know this trick from the 2010 BTV Internations Spring Gala. It was performed by David Williamson (I think that he was awarded the Best Manipulation Magician of the year by IBM... or some awesome prize anyways, and the trick simply stuck to me.)

Yes, these two performed the trick with the help of an audience.

Design: Really not much I can say about this... but trust me, you won't care much for the design, it's really the effect that you want for this.


Care: Again, just like the pen, DO NOT EAT THIS SHIT!!! Doctor said that it's bad for your health! But yeah, keep it out of wet places and it should work fine when the time is right.


Overall: I give it a score of 82/100. Pros includes the effect and how spontaneous you can do it. The cons includes how you must snatch the cup away from the audience and nothing could be checked AFTER the performance.

But all in all, a very interesting effect and I hope that you guys will like it. Also, if anybody knows the proper name for this, I would appreciate it if you told me :)


NEXT REVIEW: Bicycle Cards (alright, I know that it's lame but hey... gotta start it someday. btw, it's the normal bikes so don't get over excited. I'll do the Gaff the Ghosts, the Arcane, the Tiger etc. some other time.)