Magic Roadshow

 January 2014       

           Hello Friends..

Glad to have you back after what I hope was a rewarding Holiday season. The weather in parts of the country has been the big issue the past couple of weeks. Cold, rain, snow.. we’ve seen it all. Hope you guys faired well through it all. 

So, if you’re snowbound, here’s a little something to pass the time.. a new issue of the Magic Roadshow Journal of Magic. This one is special to me because it’s my 150th issue. I never thought I’d make it to issue #100. But, after I passed that milestone, I set my sights on issue #150. Now that I’m here, who knows where I’ll go…

This issue is a hodgepodge of resources; there’s no real path I’m following. Some of these resources are links I couldn’t find a place for in past issues. Others are somewhat off-topic, but something I think you’ll enjoy. 

Remember.. if you have questions or comments… EMAIL ME ( rick@magicroadshow.com )  A PDF version of this issue is available via a download link at the bottom of this post..

        ~ Table of Content ~

• Sir Arthur Knows – A Card Effect
• The Business of Table Hopping – A Definitive eBook by Paul Lelekis
• Balloon-Animals.com/  – A Tutorial Resource
• Need Gallium?  Spoon Molds for Sale.. (plus video)
• Jerry Andrus’ T Rex Illusion – Video
• Magic Dice Tutorial – Video
• Fewdoit – 21 Magic Video Tutorials
• How to do a Card Spring.. Detailed Video
• How to do a Card Spring.. Another Tutorial
• Magic Square Puzzles – Video Lectures & Presentations..
• (FREE) Magic Square Ebook –  100+ pages
• Werner Miller Monthly Feature for Roadshow Readers.. 2 Effects
• James Galea Gets a Standing O on Ellen – video
• Suspended – Balancing a Card Box at Extreme Angles Atop a Deck of Cards.. 
• Gravity Change – Color Change/Top Change with Attitude
• Guang Dong- Filmed at  The Lido in Paris
• Magic News – The #1 Site for Constantly Changing Magic Related Stories
• The Magic Roadshow Dollar Store –  Our Two Deals of the Month..  
• The Importance of Habit..
• Bitdefender Free – Unbreachable Security
• Hot Scots Drum Line..  – Video  (Just for Fun)
• Free eBooks for Roadshow Subscribers

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“To succeed in life we must stay within our strength zone, but continually move outside our comfort zone.” John Maxwell 

 “The best day of my life is when I manage in a winning game. And the second best day of my life is when I manage in a losing game.”  Baseball Manager Tommy Lasorda

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Sir Arthur Knows – A Card Effect                                         

I originally wrote this effect several years back for a past issue of the Roadshow.  It was titled “Know Way”.. I really liked this effect, but, I wasn’t happy with the way I’d wrote it, which isn’t unusual, and thought I would re-do it for publication in issue#150. I feared readers got lost in the original version and I wanted to try to do both my readers and this effect justice. This is a super easy effect that can be modified to play as simple or as complex as you wish… 

Effect: The magi shuffles the deck and deals five cards off the top onto a table. He asks a spectator, Carolyn, to call out a number from one to five..   

Carolyn says “Two”..

The magi points to the second card in the line and asks her to take the card, look at it, and show it around.  As Carolyn follows his directions, the magi scoops the four remaining cards from the table and turns his back to Carolyn to assure her that he will not see her card.  

After he’s convinced Carolyn has memorized the card and the other spectators have seen the card, the magi turns back and extends the packet to Carolyn, asking her to please drop her card on top.

 She does..

The magi shuffles the five cards, then again places all five in a line on the table. 

 “Carolyn.. I had you select and memorize a card. Now, I’m going to perform a small but impressive feat of detection I learned from studying the diaries of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who you may remember was the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur was a trained doctor who used his knowledge of the human body to expand the character of Sherlock and magnify his deduction abilities.  I’m going to show each of these cards back to you one at a time and I’m going to look for you to give me a small sign to help me know when you’ve see your card…” 

 One quick question Carolyn, are you right-handed or left-handed ? “

Carolyn said she was left-handed..

“This is a little know fact credited to Sir Arthur… If you are asked to.. lets say.. pick someone out of a police line-up, and you are shown a group of pictures, your right eye will twitch ever-so-slightly if you see someone you recognize.. assuming you’re left-handed. If you’re right-handed your left eye will twitch slightly. Science didn’t understand the right-brain, left brain correlation at that time, but it’s obvious Sir Arthur was ahead of his time. Since you’ve only seen the one card, I’m betting that if you see that card again, I’ll be able to tell it..”

The magi turns over one of the cards, but there’s no indication it’s Carolyn’s card. He slowly turns over the second, third, and fourth cards… and still no indication. Turning over the fifth card, the magi tells Carolyn that either she was influenced by Sir Arthur’s eye-twitch theory, and made a conscious effort to NOT twitch, or, she didn’t see her card… 

“Carolyn.. did you see your card?”

She said she didn’t… 

“Then I have one more card I want you to look at.. OK“

The magi opens the card case (that has been sitting in view on the table the entire time) and shows there is a single card in the case.. He holds the card up for Carolyn to see, confidently stating he is sure her right eye moved, ever-so-slightly, meaning that this HAS to be her card.. 

With her head nodding affirmatively, Carolyn asks incredulously how the card got in the case… I could tell her, but I won’t… That secrets reserved for you. 
Secret: This is a very simple effect that utilizes my favorite utility.. double stick tape. Get a roll if you don’t already have one. Also, you will need four cards that are duplicates of four cards in your deck. Lets assume you choose to use the Eight of Spades, Two of Hearts, Jack of Clubs, and Ace of Diamonds. Get a duplicate of each. 

Take two random cards and put a small piece of double sided (double stick) tape on the back of one and stick the two together to appear as one. The number or suit doesn’t matter and no duplicates of these are needed.  Now, put the double card on top of the Two, Eight, Jack and Ace.. and put this packet on top of the deck. (double card the top card )

A little prep work is necessary. When taking the deck out of the case, make sure one of the duplicates is left in the case. Another duplicate should be in your pants pocket. The third and fourth duplicate can be in your shirt or jacket pocket. Actually, they can be anywhere.. as long as YOU know were they are and can get your hands on them at a moments notice. Develop a little system to help you remember.. 

You can shuffle the deck, leaving the top five cards in place. You can show the deck as normal also. When you take the five cards from the top of the deck to begin your effect, lay the double card down first, in the one position, followed by the other four. This way, when you ask Carolyn to pick a number between one and five, if she says “one..” you can begin counting from the other end of the line. Likewise, if she says “five”, you begin counting with the double. We don’t want her to get the double card, now do we.. 

It’s easy to set the small packet up so you can remember what is where.. I personally have the double card, then the Two, then the Eight, then the Jack, and the Ace on the far end. It doesn’t matter that the cards are aligned smallest to largest, and it helps me to know instantly what card has been selected. 

As for the duplicates, I know that my duplicate Two is in the card case, the Eight is in my pants pocket, and the Jack and Ace are in my shirt pocket… so regardless of which card Carolyn picks.. I not only know her selection, but I know where the duplicate is located.. pretty simple really..   

After she picks her number and gets her card, take the remaining four cards and perform the only ‘sleight’, if you want to call it that.. Pick the cards up so the double card is on top of the pack again. Once your back is turned, slightly ‘twist’ the top card to separate the double. Casually put the top card on the bottom of the packet as Carolyn shows her card around.  Now, the card with a small piece of double stick tape on it’s back is on top.

Ask Carolyn to drop her card on top of the packet. Now, you can square the cards and press the packet to make her card stick to the back of the top card. All your work is now done, and you’re ready to shuffle the cards a little and then re-deal them, face up, back to the table. 

As you show her the five cards, you’ll notice that either the Two, Eight, Jack or Ace is missing – It’s stuck to the back of the indifferent card. You don’t need to see it to know it’s identity if you use the same little stack of cards each time. Assuming you see the Ace, the Eight, the Jack, an indifferent card, (that was stuck to the back of the double) and the double itself.. you know that the selected card was the Two of Hearts… It’s the only one missing from your original stack of four. As I mentioned earlier, I will most likely know the identity of her card as soon as she selects one.. but just in case, remember the above.  

Since the Two is in the card case, or your pocket, your wallet, your backpack, or whatever… you’re now ready for the Reveal. Simple, simple, simple. If you’re ambitious, you can utilize TWO spectators instead of one. It requires a little more concentration on your part, but you guys are the Best…        

 Rick Carruth
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The Business of Table Hopping – A Definitive eBook by Paul Lelekis

Publisher Malcolm Forbes got it right when he said, “The biggest mistake people make in life is not trying to make a living at what they enjoy.” 

If there is ONE field of magic that has been thoroughly ignored, it’s Table Hopping. I’ve visited hundreds of websites, perused dozens and dozens of magic shops around the country, and explored the catalogs of all the major magic companies looking for good, solid material on working restaurants. Unfortunately, the material simply isn’t there.. 

At least not until now… 

Table Hopping is my type of magic. I’ve performed in a variety of restaurants, all owned by the same corporation, and I consider myself extremely lucky. I’m the exception though… My friend, Paul Lelekis, is the REAL deal – a guy who has performed at EVERY type of restaurant imaginable, under every sort of condition imaginable. And now, after considerable arm twisting, Paul has decided to talk… 

Why is this important? Because many of the top magicians in the country make the majority of their money table hopping. These guys produce dozens of DVDs each year explaining the latest card moves, sleights, twists, and theory… but nothing about table hopping. It’s as if they don’t want to share something that might actually make you a working performer. Duh… 

This is where Paul’s latest ebook, THE BUSINESS OF TABLE HOPPING, fills this glaring gap. Many of you know Paul as a staple of THE LINKING RING and author of more than a dozen books on magic, as well as many articles on magic and card magic in publications like the Magic Roadshow. I know Paul as a professional restaurant performer with over 25 years of experience… To quote Paul:

“I never intended to write this e-book, however I have received numerous requests by other magicians to share my “secrets” of table-hopping with the magic community since I have performed for over 25 years in restaurants, often six or seven times a week! Table-hopping is my favorite form of magical entertainment. You may already have a “real job”, however, you can supplement your income with this “side job” that will not only make you a performing professional, but will also lead to many other gigs that will snowball over time!” 

The amazing fact about Paul’s book is that, in addition to revealing all the small details that make table hopping profitable, he reveals a number of the actual effects he performs.. and not simply the type of effects, but detailed instructions with pictures. How many magicians do you know are willing to reveal their actual repertoire in detail?

Learn how to approach and what to say to the customers. Learn how to deal with the wait staff. Learn how to get your first ‘gig’, and how to keep it. Paul will teach you what to charge, whether to work for tips or salary, and how to dress appropriately for the different type restaurants. No stone is left unturned. 

Honestly, I cannot think of a BETTER way to spend Ten bucks.. Don’t simply learn a trick you’ll show two or three times and put on a shelf.. learn a TRADE that will put money in YOUR pocket, increase your overall bookings ten-fold, and make you a true professional..   

The Magic Roadshow gives ‘The Business of Table Hopping’ our highest recommendation…  

http://www.lybrary.com/the-business-of-table-hopping-p-408936.html

http://lybrary.com/paul-a-lelekis-m-163788.html

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Balloon-Animals.com/  – A Tutorial Resource

If you take Paul Lelekis’ advice and learn a few basic balloon creations.. this site may be a big help. You can watch videos featuring frogs, helicopters, dinosaurs, flower bracelets, and motorcycles.. to name a few.  

http://balloon-animals.com/

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Need Gallium?  Spoon Molds for Sale.. (plus video)

Gallium, a chart metal, hit the magic world a couple of years ago. It was considered one of the top ‘secrets’ of the movers and shakers. Fortunately, although the popularity eased off, the ability to create some stunning magic remains. I think the big knock on Gallium was it was slow. Slow to what? Slow to ‘melt’ in your hand. Gallium will change from a solid to a liquid at around 85 degrees. You don’t have to dissolve it to create some impressive magic though.. 

Imagine a spoon created from Gallium, manipulated in the hands of a mentalist. Rotometals provides Gallium to the educational community about as cheap as anyone.. plus, they sell spoon molds for the adventurous among us who want to take their magic on a scientific journey.  

http://www.rotometals.com/product-p/gallium-spoon-mold.htm

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Jerry Andrus’ T Rex Illusion – Video

Like those statues and pictures who’s eyes seem to follow you regardless of which way you go, the T Rex illusion takes it a step beyond. 

Based on a concept from the brilliant mind of one of magic’s greatest contributors, the late Jerry Andrus, and created by visual guru Brusspup, this illusion presents a miniature T Rex who’s entire head seems to turn as it follows you back and forth.

In simple terms, it works like this…

The mind constantly strives to create order in what it observes. Sometimes the mind will actually fill in the blanks to make sure the images it observes confirms with it’s definition of reality. To quote Mr. Andrus…

 “The point of demonstrating illusions is not merely to show we can be fooled… rather to appreciate that the human mind is in fact working correctly… we look at a parked car on the street, we assume that the part of the car we can’t see is there too; our brains have to do this so that we can make sense of the world around us”.

This illusion is a concave 3D creation. The mind sees it as a 2D image. What the mind thinks is pointing outward is actually pointing inward.. creating the illusion.  You can google ‘t Rex illusion video’ for a more in-depth explanation… 

Watch the video… 

https://magicroadshow.com/andrus.php

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     Magic Dice Tutorial – Video

Thanks to Archive.org for providing this video. Thanks also to my cohort Jim Canaday fromTheMagicPortal.us for bringing it to the surface… 

This is basically a dice matrix, very similar to what you would perform with coins except easier because of the shape of a die. Watch the video a try it out.. It’s the second video on the page.

(Magic trick video tutorial instruction by Langerman, www.fewdoit.com (author reserved no rights) public domain dedication.)

https://magicroadshow.com/andrus.php

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Fewdoit – 21 Magic Video Tutorials

Mr. Langerman not only provided us with the above dice tutorial, but I also found a page on his site with twenty-one magic tutorials on video. They include vids like ‘Sticky Hands’, ‘Three Knots’, and ‘Thumb Penetration’.  Since he has placed these videos in the public domain, feel free to share them with your friends.. (see below)

Look around. You’ll find links to the rest of the site that includes lots of balloon twisting info and tutorials.

 https://sites.google.com/site/fewdoit/magic-tricks-tutorials-instructions

** These programs are free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for more details.

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 The Magic Roadshow Journal of Magic

 Remember.. signing up for the Magic Roadshow Journal of Magic is FREE. There is NO obligation and your email is 100% safe. I don’t even share it with other magicians.. You will be notified each month when a new issue of the Roadshow publishes and you can unsubscribe with one click.

Subscribe Here..   https://magicroadshow.com

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How to do a Card Spring.. Detailed Video

Card Springs are one of the most sought after achievements in all of card control. Everyone wants a good one, but few actually master this flourish. Here is a good 8 minute video that may help you achieve the elusive Card Spring…

http://etricks.info 

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How to do a Card Spring.. Another Tutorial

Here’s another six minute tutorial on the elusive card spring. This one is presented by 52Kards.com and is well instructed and helpful..

http://youtu.be/U-GvSSBLVhg 

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Magic Square Puzzles – Video Lectures & Presentations..

This site goes into great details to explain how to create a successful Magic Square. Done properly, the Magic Square is one of magic’s profound mysteries. There are many different type of squares.. small to very large, and you will find one to suit you either in the site or the accompanying 100+ free Magic Square eBook.

Don’t be deterred by the mathematics. Although the math geeks will have a field day here, it’s not necessary to understand mathematical formulas to become extremely proficient at creating magic squares on the fly.. Look for eight or nine videos that discuss various aspects of creation, a daily puzzle, and look for a link in the left nav bar that encourages you to create your own magic square. That is the link to the 100 plus page ebook. I’ve furnished the link below..  

 http://www.magicsquarepuzzles.com/magic-square-video-presentation.html

(FREE) Magic Square Ebook

100+ pages.. You don’t have to download this ebook, it opens automatically..

http://www.magicsquarepuzzles.com/ebook/

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Werner Miller Monthly Feature for Roadshow Readers.. 2 Effects

22. Another Negative Clue

 Sort out the ten Heart (or Spade) spot cards, and give them to a spectator for shuffling.

 Then instruct him to set the top card unviewed aside.

 Request him to deal the remaining cards back and forth into two equal piles until only one card is left. Ask him to note and remember the value of this card, then have this card placed on top of either pile and the other pile dropped on top.

 Take the combined pile and mix the cards by giving them a Reverse Forward Faro or a Monge (Over/Under) Shuffle or a Down/Under Shuffle, thus positioning the noted card seventh from the top.

 Call attention to the card set aside at the beginning and turn it face up. It is e.g. the Five of Hearts. State, “The only fact I know about your card is that it is definitely not the Five of Hearts.”

 Spell aloud “N-O-T”, with each letter dealing off the top a single card into a new pile, then drop the remaining cards as a block on top. In a similar manner spell “T-H-E”, then “F-I-V-E”, then “O-F”, and finally “H-E-A-R-T-S”.

 Turn the top card face up and remark, “But as you can see, this information is sufficient to locate it!”

 A variation: If you want to use Club cards, the spectator’s card is to be positioned 8th from the top down. This can be accomplished by performing two Monge Shuffles.

 23. Detour

 Use any seven cards. The spectator selects any other card, notes and remembers it and places it on top of your 7-card packet. Perform a false cut to seemingly lose the spectator’s card.

 Say, “Probably you are expecting me to find your card. You are wrong; the card I am going to find is not your card.” Spell “N-O-T” (reverse count 3 cards into a new pile, drop rest on top), “Y-O-U-R” (reverse count 4 cards into a new pile, drop rest on top), “C-A-R-D” (reverse count 4 cards into a new pile, drop rest on top). Turn the final top card face up in place, and let the spectator confirm that it is not his card. (In fact, the spectator’s selection is now fifth from the top down.)

 Continue, “But there is something to this card you will see soon: It will take us to your card.” Ask the spectator to give the cards a complete cut, then deal the cards singly and alternately into two piles. Point to the pile containing the face-up card, and discard the other one. 4 cards remain. Deal them back and forth as before. Point to the pair containing the face-up card, and eliminate the other one. Grasp the face-up card and use it to scoop up and flip over the last face-down card: It is the spectator’s selection.

 A variation: Place your 7-card packet on the spectator’s card so that it becomes the new bottom card, false cut, spell/deal “A-N-Y”, “O-T-H-E-R”, “C-A-R-D”, and turn the final top card face up. Continue as described.

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Werner Miller is a retired math teacher living in Austria. He has created literally hundreds of math based magic tricks. His primary interest is recreational math and applying it to puzzles and magic.

He won the 1989 and 1992 Tenyo Magic Competition each with a Flash Dice Routine. In addition, Werner has written extensively for magic publications.. including The Magician, Abracadabra, The Mystery Magazine, and Club 71.  Lybrary.com feature a number of books authored by Werner, most in English and some in German.  For more (and more elaborate) math-based magic by Werner Miller visit:

http://www.lybrary.com/werner-miller-m-7881.html

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Build Your Magic Show – Free Videos

Get an hour of free, first rate instruction from my friend, Julian Mather.. master magician and marketing guru. If you EVER had a real desire to build your own magic show – regardless of your age or experience – now is your time. Don’t put it off another day.. you’re not getting younger my friend!

 Click Here 

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James Galea Gert’s a Standing O on Ellen – video

You can thank my buddy, Elaine, for this video.. James Galea actually earns a standing ovation on the Ellen Show for this card classic. His patter is SO quick he doesn’t give you time to think about what he’s accomplishing. Just sit back and enjoy the next couple of minutes..  

http://www.flixxy.com/australian-magician-james-galeas-unbelievable-trick.htm

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Two Video Tutorials from FernandoP1 and Art Zone Productions..

Suspended – Balancing a Card Box at Extreme Angles Atop a Deck of Cards.. 

Discussed in the Encyclopedia of Magic and Mystery and comparing to ‘Vertigo‘ by Rick Lax, this gimmick allows you to balance a card box in seemingly impossible positions. There is both a gimmicked and non-gimmicked method shown in the tutorial…  Easy to do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxUpIc9Gtmk&feature=em-subs_digest-vrecs

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Gravity Change – Color Change/Top Change with Attitude

You won’t do this one instantly. Be prepared to practice.. But I think the end result is worth the effort. 

Similar to ‘Flippant’ by Looy Simonoff, you have to watch the video to see the possibilities of this change, which can be utilized for sleights other than color changes. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJv3aaMaAcs

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Guang Dong- Filmed at  The Lido in Paris

Very nice performance video from my Chicago buddy, Elliott Black. These acrobats are so well balanced it’s a shame.. I have trouble walking in rhythm… 

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=GsTqmEeBKhw&vq=medium#t=41 

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Magic News – The #1 Site for Constantly Changing Magic Related Stories

As soon as you finish reading this issue of the Roadshow I hope you can find time to visit Magic News. I’ve invested many hours of work and published dozens of stories related to everything from performing magic, to Penn Jillette, to magic shows in Australia, to performing magic for the blind, and recent problems for Paul Daniels…

Although Magic News will never reach the literary and intellectual quality of Tim Quinlan’s INSIDE MAGIC, (nothing in the magic world does..) we do strive to add news stories about the world of magic as they happen. We ( the Magic News and I ) have some very nice sources. I am notified several times a day if a news story with a magic related theme is published, either in newspapers, on line publications, glossy magazines, or blogs. 

Look inside this Magic News link for a quick view of ‘one’ of my resources.. I think you’ll find it interesting. Go to our MagicNews link below to see the end product. Every story at Magic News is carefully selected by hand, (no auto publishing here..) for your education, information and enjoyment… 

http://MagicNews.org

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 $$ The Magic Roadshow Dollar Store –  Our Two Deals of the Month..  

Deal #1  Groovebook – For Those of You Who Love to Take Phone Pics.. 

If you happened to watch ‘Shark Tank‘ a couple of nights ago you saw some heavy bidding on this product. Eventually purchased by Mark Cuban and ‘Mr. Wonderful’, there’s no doubt the price will go up for future customers.. so sign up now. The deal is this – you send Groove Book up to 100 pictures a month from your phone and they, in turn, send you the pictures back, nicely printed and bound in a keepsake perforated book, for $2.99 a month. This is not a typo. This IS a subscription service.. so you will be charged each month until you stop the service. 

Regardless, you can upload pics to your phone from your computer and then forward them to Groovebook in order to get All your pictures printed out in book form for the price of a cup of coffee.. If you don’t have 100 pictures, you can order multiples. These make great gifts… Believe it or not, shipping and handling is included in the subscription price. Check it out at:

http://groovebook.com

Try using the code: CNETGROOVE at checkout to get your first 100 print book free… 

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Deal #2 My Best Magic ‘Investment’ Over the Holidays.. and it cost $0.99 Cents!

I’ve found another use for my iPhone… It’s called ‘Magic Trick#1‘ and it cost ninety-nine cents. Basically, you download the app, and you’re ready to do some impressive feats of mental magic. 

I’ll let you watch the short video to see the app in action, and I’ll give you a second link with a review and a link to purchase it… 

Watch Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yivIxln85gY

Read Review:  

http://www.tuaw.com/2014/01/02/review-magic-trick-1-is-a-card-magic-trick-for-your-iphone/

PS.. I use a Split Spades marked deck. I separate all the face cards into one packet, mix them, and fan them face down.. I ask the spec to touch one. As soon as she does it gives me a moment to secretly see the value and suit on the back. I ask her to go ahead and take the card, but not let me see it. After a fair amount of patter, I reveal the card on my phone. This is strong, since I never ‘saw’ her card before it was revealed by my iPhone… I’ve fooled a few magicians with this one… 

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The Importance of Habit.. ( This may be THE most important characteristic of a great Magician )

The founder of one of the world’s most successful companies said, “The individual who wants to reach the top must appreciate the might and force of habit. He must be quick to break those habits that can break him—and hasten to adopt those practices that will become the habits that help him achieve the success he desires.” This is true in all of life. A dream becomes a reality as the result of your actions, and your actions are controlled mainly by your habits. 

Speaker and author Robert Ringer says, “The world is saturated with intelligent, highly educated, extraordinarily skilled people who experience ongoing frustration because of their lack of success. Millions of others spend their lives working hard, long hours, only to die broke.” What’s the solution? Ringer says: “Remember, life is nothing more than the sum total of many successful years; a successful year is nothing more than the sum total of many successful months; a successful month is nothing more than the sum total of many successful weeks; a successful week is nothing more than the sum total of many successful days. That’s why practicing successful habits, day in and day out, is the most certain way to win over the long term.” 

You have to take a realistic look at yourself to know where your habits are taking you. If your habits don’t line up with your dream, then you need to either change your habits or change your dream. If you want to hold on to your dream, then be prepared to change your habits, because a bad habit never goes away by itself.

http://TheEncouragingWord.org

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Bitdefender Free – Unbreachable Security

If you don’t have a reliable anti virus on your computer, you now have no more excuses.. BitDefender is Free, BitDefender is extremely reliable, and BitDefender is so small that you will NOT notice it running. Oh, I’ve had programs I actually uninstalled because of the resources they used; constantly freezing my machine, delaying start-ups by several minutes, and running invasive scans at inappropriate times. 

Although there is a paid version that features additional security, Bitdefender Free will provide you with good, basic, reliable protection you cannot afford to be without… Personally, I use Bitdefender on ALL my computers, and give it two thumbs up… (I used to use AVG, which is still a good antivirus – but Bitdefender provides an equal level of service and is a considerably less drain on my device/laptop…)

 http://www.bitdefender.com/solutions/free.html

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Hot Scots Drum Line..  – Video  (Just for Fun)

The video speaks for itself. It’s a group of young guys displaying their skills as performers at a local talent show.  

I have always had a love of drum lines, assuming they were talented, exceptionally rhythmic, and entertaining. (Much like myself) The Hot Scots are all three… 

http://streetmagic2.blogspot.com/

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Free eBooks For Subscribers….

Here’s a link where you can download a variety of free ebooks, including Erdnase’ Expert At The Card Table… If you are not a subscriber, you can sign up HERE..

http://streetmagic.info/cbmall3.html 

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That does it for this issue. I hope you found something to help your magic study along. Remember, if you have something you would like to share with the magic community, send it to:   Rick@MagicRoadshow.com

“May my next issue find you well..” 

 Rick Carruth / Editor 

Senior Professor – Camelard College of Conjuring of Chemmis, Egypt 

“Magic’s Only Worldwide Honor Society”

http://www.camelardcollege.org/ 

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PDF Version …  Magic Roadshow 150

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 Interview:  Julian Mather

 

Julian Mather is a magician, speaker, marketer, developer, teacher, and most importantly, someone who knows how to draw you into his world as a performer and make you a better person as a result. Julian is always encouraging, always positive, and always the professional. I discovered Julian’s Magic School while exploring the web, looking for resources for the Roadshow. After reading his material and watching dozens of videos available for the asking, I ordered everything available through the magic store, several gigs of downloads, and quickly realized both the value and real world experience that went into each effect.

At one time, I thought I was prolific…that was until I encountered Julian. The amount of material available on his various sites, the videos (120+),  and the brand new program that teaches future performers how to develop their own first rate shows requires an enormous expenditure of both time and effort. Julian and I think alike. He understands the real world value of an effect scripted to entertain the ‘public’, and not necessarily fellow magicians. He is truly a professional performer, and that is the basis of my interview with Julian Mather…       

Rick:  Hi Julian. First, let’s talk a moment about Julian Mather. Where do you reside? Married/single, and how did you get into magic? What do you consider your strengths and your specialties?

Julian: I am a 52 year old bloke (that’s Australian vernacular for a general run-of-the-mill sort of guy) married to the wonderful Miss Vicky. We have raised two daughters now 19 and 21 who treat our house like a fully serviced hotel. That’s just to let you know Australia is very similar to the rest of the world.

I got into magic through one of my past careers as a documentary cameraman. I would travel away a lot and as a result you end up spending much of your life in hotels and bars. I did not want to end up with sclerosis of the liver so I always took part of my home life to keep me occupied at nights. Following some odd activities like printing black and white photos, then restoring pieces of furniture – yes, I would travel with items like antique drawers I could sand and polish – learning magic tricks seemed relatively sane.

The more people heard I was studying magic, the more I was asked to perform and over a dozen or so years I had amassed hundreds of school show performances and many more performances to audiences in Australia, USA, South Africa and UK. These were essentially all free shows but I really applied myself to it with a professional mindset.

In 2008 I took an almighty leap of faith and left a career that I was very highly regarded in and ran away and metaphorically joined the circus. In reality, I set to being a local kids and family magician. It worked – as that is what I still do today.

My strengths are I am willing to question things in the world of magic that seem to exist because of tradition but make little sense to me on close examination. I took Eugene Burger’s maxim of ‘be your own authority’ to heart.

I only claim to be expert in one thing in the world of magic: I’m an authority on how to be a middle age person and leave your job to pursue your dream to become a magician and make a comfortable income from it.

I seem to be able to take tired old props and breathe a little new life into them but that’s about it.

Rick: I’m in awe of the work you have invested in your site, Julian’s Magician School. The content, the dozens of custom images, and the quality of the material you retail to fellow magicians is second to none. What are your hopes for the magician who finds your site for the first time?

Julian: My hope is that when people find my site for the first time that they take a chance and trust me. First and foremost I want to help people become confident because I never was and I know how that felt.. and it’s not nice. Magic has helped me enormously and I am driven to share what I have learnt.

Integrity, that there is consistency between what I say and do, is so important to me. I just hope people give me a chance to prove that to them. Unfortunately magic is full of outlandish claims on the packaging of tricks that rarely live up to the hype, so I get tarred with the same brush. That’s life, and I take it on the chin like the rest. But I really do have something that can help others so I always hope they don’t err on the side of caution and give me a shot to prove myself.

Rick: Who is your target market?

Julian: You know every time I do a public show, let’s say a strolling event at a festival, I will break into a mini show and draw a crowd around. I pack the front row in tight but there will always be at least one man, usually 35 -55 years old, who stands back from the group and watches me like a hawk. He never joins in on the fun but he’s there from the moment I set up until the moment I move on. I know who he is. He is me twenty years ago. This is exactly what I would do as I was fascinated by how someone became a magician, how they made a living from magic, how they got a crowd to stay, how they got strangers to pay them. All this and more I wanted to know the answers to because something in me compelled me to ask.

So who is my target market? Males 35-55 who are dissatisfied with their job and never have unleashed the magic performer in them. I know my target market intimately.

Rick: I purchased your entire package some time back and it has to contain several gigs of information, pdfs, posters, and videos. Although there was something for performers of all aspects of magic, the bulk seemed to center on entertaining at parties and gatherings, as opposed to stage performances. How long did it take you to develop the package and what did you most NOT want to part with?

Julian: Everything I sold via my birthday-party-magician.com website was created to give people the best opportunity to get out there in front of someone, anyone and actually perform something. For most of us that means family friends and colleagues.

I was not aiming at magicians who wanted material for their show, I was aiming at people who wanted the confidence to perform. The step up to performing in front of people is just too high for most people. Finding an old packing crate that people can use to make the step up easier is what I think my routines were. Everything I use myself and I know they get reactions. Everything is technically a one on a scale of one to five. I simply put out material that I wished was available when I started.

Rick: As a lover of the classic flea circus, I was mesmerized by the Hernando routine. Tell me something about the thinking behind the development of Hernando.

Julian: Following on this is the routine I most wanted to keep to myself. It is simply the best routine i know because it is the most useful. This is a get out of jail routine.

My Dad was an amateur magician who never performed and I bet he rarely did because he was crippled by the lack of confidence I was too.. early on. I’m sure I inherited that from him. He must have had one of the very first stiff ropes. It was bent and tattered but he would toy with it a lot. He used to make the little flea walk across the rope in the clever handling that you learn in the routine I teach.

Then about 5 years ago I saw Duane Laffin do a short version of this routine as a throw away time filler at a magic conference. I looked around and there was little interest from the magicians. My heart was pumping. I thought this was brilliant. All I did was take my Dad’s idea, add Duane’s basic structure, added a few tired old hackneyed magicians jokes to it and voila! Hernando, The World’s Strongest Flea was born.

I take no credit for any originality. I tried contacting Duane for more info on it but never heard back. If anything I am happy to have given new life to something so totally captivating for audiences.

Rick: The number of videos you have on YouTube offering support to your site and your magic is staggering. Time wise, what percentage of your time is invested in the video aspect? Do you see video as the future? Why do you offer the videos for free as opposed to bundling them and selling them? Do you consider the time you’ve invested in the videos as important to your future plans?

Julian: Each of my magician school videos takes me 6-8 hours to complete. Often I don’t even know what trick it will be until I sit down and start. I plan and write out HOW I am going to teach it then begin the process. The shoot and edit take half the time, then the uploading, building a web page, doing Facebook posts and tweets and RSS feeds takes up the other half.

Video is incredibly powerful and it is happening now, not the future. That said I always encourage people to use books and video. It’s like a knife and fork. Separately of limited benefit but used together – WOW!

Julian’s Magician School videos are free and will remain free because why should someone have to pay to have the opportunity to improve their lives. I try hard to make sure that most of the tricks I put up are what I loosely term public domain. My rule of thumb for that is if I can find the trick in a public library, then it is accessible for all.

Also, the building of one’s confidence should not be the exclusive right of those who can pay for it. Often the ones who need it most are the ones who cannot afford it. I consider this to be a basic right along with things like education and health care. Let’s extend this out to something I wasn’t aware of before I started publishing the videos. The internet is a worldwide phenomenon. The western world with its relative affluence are not the only people who now have access to my videos. People from many developing nations follow me too.

Can you imagine being someone who worked a whole month of manual work and ordered a $25 trick online only to open it up, and instead of Solomon’s Cave of Treasure they found a playing card with a piece of fishing line and a small square of double sided tape.

Of course there is a place for paid magic. Julian’s Magician School is simply an alternative.
Sure these videos will help me in the future. They have given me a voice in the world of magic and also given me a chance to prove my integrity and consistency that I mentioned earlier as important.

Rick: Maybe this question is more for my benefit than most of my readers, but I’m shameless.. What are your primary methods of promoting your site and your products? What seems to be most successful?

Julian: My number one method of promoting my site is what I just mentioned, being consistent in my approach and voice. To be honest the people find me, I don’t find the people.

Certainly YouTube is a great way to drive traffic to your site. For it to work for you though you need to offer something different. People don’t come to me because I’m a great magician, I’m not. People come to the videos because I can offer them some hope to one day being the confident person they aspire to be.

Once they are there, I always make sure they can get to my site easily and get my free ebook. It is 40,000 words of solid practical and at times life changing suggestions. I know this because so many people have told me how much it helped them. This is the fuel I need to keep going.

My primary strategy for promoting myself is to give away for free really good quality information. I keep getting emails saying why aren’t you selling this stuff? I don’t sell it because I want people to know that if the material you get for free from me is top rate then if I do offer something up for a cost then you can be guaranteed it will be better. So really it’s a win – win for everyone. This is not my philosophy, it’s a style that is catching on called abundant giving.

So in short the secret lies not in technology or gimmicks or sneaky Google algorithms, it is simply trying to give people the best you can so they are willing to hear more from you.

Rick: Just recently, I signed up and received four in-depth videos detailing the building of one’s magic show. For those who haven’t seen the videos, tell us what you hope to accomplish, and what type of response you’ve received to Live Your Magic Dream and Build Your Magic Show?

Julian: LiveYourMagicDream.com is simply an umbrella site for all my projects. One of those is BuildYourMagicShow.com where you get 4 very detailed content rich videos if you simply give me your email address in return. I never spam people or trade their email addresses. The videos actually contain some of the routines I was selling through my website. Now I am giving those away too.

What I hope this does is gets people to think about how they structure their magic shows. There seems to have been little real thought go into this up until now. I know there will be people tut-tutting me as some sort of jumped up wanna be expert in the world of magic. I simply say go and watch the 4 free videos. If after that you think I don’t have anything that is worthy of further investigation then you have many ways you can let me know.

I also hope to raise the bar on children’s and family magic education. Am I doing this? Let the people speak for themselves:

“My wonderful wife knows exactly how much I’ve invested in magic materials. Following my first performance using Julian’s material she said: “That course is the best magic thing you’ve ever purchased!”

“…this is all diamond quality content and I am so grateful to be here.”

“…this is the most completely applicable course I’ve ever seen”

“Anybody who wants to put a show together would be crazy not to do this course.”
“…absolutely stoked to be a part of this course. It has already turned my show around in so many positive ways”

The response has been outstanding. It almost needs to be because the production schedule for each of the 5 modules is grueling with approx 40 videos per module. I would hate to think I was doing it all for nothing.

Rick: What’s in the future for you? What direction do you hope to take your magic?

Julian: The future is very exciting. What I have done so far is the tip of the ice berg. I actually wake up every day and go Yeah! I’m still alive. There is so much I have yet to finish.

Next on the schedule is a business side of magic project unlike anything out there. This is going to knock the socks off everyone as it is SO ACCESSIBLE. You wait and see. I’m bursting to give details but now is not the right time. I’m very big on delivering on my promises so stay tuned.

Then there is 3 Minute Magic Show.com  This is another FREE venture to give people inspiration to be able to take a few simple tricks and construct a 3 minute magic show from them that will let you approach people with your magic. What you say, a 3 minute show? How is that possible? I know it works because this is how I made my big leap up in confidence. I tried for years to a 30 minute show but it never got me the confidence. I stumbled and bumbled and stuttered my way through.

One day I thought enough is enough. I started doing a 3 min show ten times in a row and my confidence soared. I am really excited at the potential for this to get people in front of audiences.

Rick: Lastly, what is your favorite effect to perform for adults? Favorite effect to perform for children? Words of advice for future performers…

Julian: My favourite effect for adults is the same as for children and grannies and grandpops: Sponge Balls … the most maligned and dismissed trick in magic. I get great reactions from other routines but nothing consistently gets whoops and hollers like those little yellow balls. Come along and look at BuildYourMagicShow and you will SEE what I mean.

The best things any future performers can do is not expect it all to happen next week. Think in one to five year blocks and set goals accordingly. I am living proof this works, that everything I promote works because above all, I am very average, I simply set goals and don’t stop until I achieve them. Do you know why I sign off my videos with, “If I can do it, you can do it”? Because it’s true.

Rick: Julian, I want to ‘thank you’ for taking time to share your thoughts with the Magic Roadshow readers. I am slow to promote fellow magicians, but in your case, I fully understand the amount of hard work and dedication that has gone into your site, your career, and your products. Here’s wishing one of the really ‘good guys’ in all of magic endless success in the future.

Click For Info on Build Your Magic Show

Over 120 Free Videos

Tons of Resources & Articles

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Card Passé-Passé – A Card Effect Revised
R. Carruth

This nice effect was published in an alternate form in issue 30 of The Jinx. After reading the handling, I changed things around a bit to accommodate a seldom used device in my arsenal. This effect will require a packet of nineteen cards and a change bag or egg bag.

The magi counts fifteen cards into the hand of a spectator…Rob for short. Since there seems to be something ‘off’ by the magi’s count, Rob is asked to count the cards back into the magi’s hand. Fifteen there are…

The magi again counts the fifteen cards back into Rob’s hand, again using a suspicious count that leaves Rob slightly confused.

The magus holds out the change bag and asks Rob to drop two cards into the bag. He does.

Rob is asked to count the cards into the magi’s hand a second time. There are still fifteen cards in his packet.

Magi again counts the cards back into Rob’s hand…again using the funny count.

Rob is asked to place two more cards into the change bag…which he does.

Rob is asked to count the cards in his hand…There are STILL fifteen.

He is now given a rubber band to place around the packet, and asked to drop the entire packet into the change bag.

After due diligence, the bag is shown empty. After a little more diligence…the packet is shown to be in Rob’s pocket…….

(Note: I am leaving the patter up to you…)

This effect works best when you have access to your audience before the performance. You will have to secret a packet of fifteen cards, wrapped in a rubber band, into someone’s pocket. This effect actually works well with a female carrying a large handbag. It’s not hard to secretly drop a packet of cards into some of these large monstrosities. If space is a concern, you can create your own change bag out of a couple of paper bags and carry it folded in your pocket.

Hold a packet of fifteen cards in hand…with four more in your pants pocket. After re-approaching Rob, ask if he can assist you with a very special trick…Tell him you are going to count fifteen cards into his hand, and do so like this…”Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen, twelve, eleven, ten, nine, eight, and 2 are ten, and 2 makes twelve, and 3 more make fifteen..”

Rob will look at you like you’re crazy.

Assure Rob that there are really fifteen, and ask him to recount the cards into your hand. Rob will discover that there ARE actually fifteen cards in the packet. While Rob is counting into your left hand, slip your right hand into your pocket and palm two of the four cards. Secret them to the top of the pack.

“Rob, I can tell you’re the suspicious type, so I’ll count them again, “Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen, twelve, eleven, ten, nine, eight, seven, and 3 make ten, 2 make twelve, and 3 are fifteen..”
“Let’s cut the number down a tad and make the counting simpler…drop two of your cards into this bag.”

After Rob does so, ask him to again count the cards into your hand. He will count fifteen…

As before, you will secret two cards from your right pocket, adding them to the packet in your left hand. Count the seventeen cards back to Rob exactly as before…”Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen, twelve, eleven, ten, nine, eight, seven, and 3 make ten, 2 make twelve, and 3 are fifteen..”

“Tell you what Rob, why don’t you drop two more cards into this bag. “Rob does.

“Count your cards now, Rob, and you should have thirteen.”

To Rob’s surprise, he STILL has fifteen cards. Hand Rob a rubber band and ask him to wrap it around the packet.

“Every time you drop two in the bag they return to the packet. Let’s drop the whole packet in the bag and see what happens.”

After a little patter you can now show the change bag empty. If you’re using a paper bag, simply tear down the ‘other’ side of the bag, showing it empty. This will be quite the surprise for Rob…but not quite as big a surprise as when you ask him to look inside his jacket pocket…or when you ask Carolyn to look inside her handbag.
Use a small rubber band that only allows one pass around the packet. You will have that one guy who wants to wrap it four or five times if possible. I know this sounds long and complicated…but it’s not. It IS time consuming, which is generally a plus for most of us. Develop your own patter…something that fits your style and character. If you can vanish a couple of cards in mid air, you can remove the two cards each time instead of having Rob drop them in a bag and vanish them in any way you see fit..

This effect was originally published in an alternate form in The Jinx, issue 30, as “Oscar H. Paulson’s Card Passé- Passé”. Revised by Rick C.

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Would you like Issue #30 of The Jinx? You can see the original effect, plus a number of other effects, courtesy of Mr. Annemann…
https://app.box.com/s/w7l0i5034ndenzzo6c72

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** Remember.. signing up for the Magic Roadshow Journal of Magic is FREE. There is NO obligation and your email is 100% safe. I don’t even share it with other magicians.. You will be notified each month when a new issue of the Roadshow publishes and you can unsubscribe with one click.   Subscribe Now

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Die Maiers’ Comedy Trapeze

When was the last time you watched a good trapeze duo on video? What! Never you say. Then you are in for a treat. Die Maiers, is a German duo of performers.  Sabine Maier and Joachim Mohr are the artists, each playing an inept character unqualified for the rigors of the trapeze. Their stutter steps are reminiscent of Buster Keaton and their performance is quite outstanding…

You’ll enjoy this…Thanks to my friend Elliott Black for the link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eor9b_WANEs

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Magic Tips and Tricks – Christmas Special

The Holidays are upon us and I can’t wait…I’m a sucker for presents and I love the lights and tenor of the Season. If you don’t already own Magic Tips and Tricks, I’ve adjusted the price for the Holidays to $8.06 to make it quite affordable to all. The Kindle edition is only $2.99.

I wish from time to time I’d chosen a different name for this book…I know it sounds simplistic. But I didn’t care as much about the title as I did the content. 126 pages of good stuff for Roadshow readers.

Order at Amazon

Order Kindle Version

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The Amateur Conjuror…

COLUMN #34. “All Great Things Come To An End”
©2013 by Ed Glassman

Hi…
This is my last column. I loved writing these columns. However, I now want to do other things: write columns about my other interests in life (‘creativity at work,’ for instance), dance to a different tune, create new songs, think about other things, and write a book.

To celebrate, I am not going to include a magic trick in my column today. My magic tricks are in my four books which are now available in hard print and in Amazon Kindle form (ebook). To help you find them, CLICK ON EACH TITLE below to connect to Amazon…

1. Family Magic-1: Easy-To-Do Magic Tricks That Astonish and Amuse.  Click Here

2. Family Magic-2. No Hands Card Tricks.   Click Here

3. 25 Amazing Magic Card Tricks Easily Performed Over The Telephone (Family Magic 3).
Click Here

 4. 45 Astonishing Card Magic Tricks For Kidz Of All Ages (Family Magic 4).   Click Here

Enough of that for now. I have totally enjoyed writing my column “The Amateur Conjuror” for the “Magic Roadshow.” Rick is such a marvelous, generous human being that it was a great pleasure. I think Rick Carruth, the noble editor of the Magic Roadshow, is a splendid human being and friend.

And I must thank all persons who read my column. I especially appreciate you.

Now for my last bit of magic. I pronounce my secret words and Rick Carruth, our gracious editor, is rendered powerless to resist, and he will publish this last column even though it doesn’t show how to do a new magic trick.

Bye all.

Editor’s note: Both I and the Magic Roadshow will miss our monthly treat from Edward. The Amateur Conjuror was a collection of effects for the real world…carefully constructed by a very thoughtful mind to amaze those not “in the know..”. Edward Glassman, as his resume will attest, is quite the writer. With many scholarly works to his credit, we were fortunate that we were able to get Ed to turn off the academic mindset to compose thoughtful and interesting articles for those of us who appreciated his wit and wisdom.  I certainly wish my friend the Best in all his future endeavors, and say ‘Thank You Ed” for all the time invested in our little magic journey.

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Werner Miller – Two Effects for Roadshow Readers…

20. The Last Card

Have a spectator sitting across the table facing you. Openly sort out the thirteen Clubs, and hand them to the spectator who shuffles them. Retrieve them, and deal them singly and rotationally into three piles, one in front of you, two before the spectator. Deal the first card to yourself, then proceed clockwise until the cards run out. At the end, your pile consists of five cards, each of the spectator’s piles contains four cards.

Ask the spectator to decide on either of his piles. He’s free to shuffle it once more, then he notes and remembers the top card (leaving it there), places his other pile on top of it and drops the combined pile on top of your pile.

False cut the cards. The spectator’s card is still fifth from the top down.

Spell “C-L-U-B”, with each letter shifting a single card from top to bottom, and discard the card falling on the last letter. Continue this way eliminating every fourth card, until you are left with only one card; it is the spectator’s card.

Or: Use the thirteen Spades or Hearts. After they have been dealt as described, instruct the spectator to note and remember the bottom card of either of his piles and to place that pile on top of his other pile. Drop your pile on top of all, so that the spectator’s card is now at position no. 9 from the top down.

False cut, then continuously spell “S-P-A-D-E” (“H-E-A-R-T”, resp.), at the end of the word discarding the next card (i.e., every sixth card). Again, the spectator’s card remains.

 

21. Not That Diamond

Have the thirteen Diamonds shuffled by the spectator, then deal them as in “The Last Card” into three piles. The spectator decides on either of his piles, shuffles it once more and notes and remembers the final bottom card. Then that pile is placed on top of the spectator’s other pile.

Point to your pile and turn over the top card. Let’s assume, it’s the King. Either place it face up on the table or place it face down back on top of your pile (spectator’s choice). Then put your pile on top of the spectator’s combined pile. The spectator’s card is now either the eighth in a 12-card packet or the ninth in a 13-card packet.

Perform a false cut.
Recall the value showed up on top of your pile (King, in our example), stating that this bit of information makes it easy to find the spectator’s card. Spell “N-O-T” (deal out 3 cards into a new pile, then drop rest on top), “T-H-E” (do the same once more), “K-I-N-G” (the value can be a 3-, 4- or 5-letter word, so deal out the corresponding number of cards, then drop rest on top), “O-F” (deal 2 cards, drop rest on top), “D-I-A-M-O-N-D-S” (deal 8 cards, drop rest on top).
Turn over the final top card; it is automatically the spectator’s card.

Werner Miller is a retired math teacher living in Austria. He has created literally hundreds of math based magic tricks. His primary interest is recreational math and applying it to puzzles and magic.
Check out more (and more elaborate) math-based magic by Werner Miller at:

http://www.lybrary.com/werner-miller-m-7881.html

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The Magician Who Puts The Show Into Show Business With His Tricks Of The Trade..
Thomas Heath for the Washington Post

It’s not often we get the opportunity to look inside the mind and analyse the thinking of the super successful. Mark Phillip’s sets the standard for corporate magicians. That’s why this article is such a treat for the many who are envious of the corporate performer…

“Practice, practice, practice. Memorization. Cold-calling businesses. That’s all part of the game. His business is not little kids’ birthday parties, or Las Vegas glamour. Instead, his bread and butter is the trade show. Companies pay him thousands of dollars to troll the floor of a convention centre performing his close-up magic tricks while delivering his client’s corporate message. His 12-minute act runs twice an hour, six to eight hours a day. The big challenge is getting the clients to hire him in the first place…”

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/nov/19/magician-tricks-corporate-message-business

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Check out this selection of effects, available via video, for performers of all levels. When I first ran across this package, I saw two videos that interested me to the point that I was willing to pay $6.95 for the entire package.. just to get what I wanted. I don’t regret it one bit…. You won’t either.

http://streetmagic.info/10vids.html

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Reverse Card Change Tutorial / Cambio de Color de Carta al Reves

Here’s three great video tutorials by FernandoP1 and Art Zone Productions. This first card change is very visual and technically challenging. There are angles that must be mastered. Once done, you’ll own a color change like no other in your arsenal.

Let me know how this effect works for you…

http://youtu.be/BlivDvyhWiw

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Clickshift Tutorial Revealed – An Amazing Card Shift Control

FernandoP1 demonstrates a card change that, for all practical purposes, appears impossible. The change is performed with one hand and no visible moves. You’ll have to watch the video to understand the control. I’m not going to tell you it’s easy and that you’ll be performing it five minutes after watching the tutorial…but it’s something that you can do…with practice.

Master this one if you want to blow away your magic buddies. They will appreciate it more than the general public…although both will be quite amazed.

http://youtu.be/XMvDFSy1RlQ

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Wheel Pass – You Can Do It..

And here is the third video from FernandoP1. As soon as you watch this video, you’ll grab a deck of cards to see if this is possible. Similar to Lennart Green’s wonderful Float Pass.

http://www.etricks.info/2013/12/wheel-pass.html

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The Easy Great Card Trick – Video

Here is another card trick from mismag822, my favorite YouTube channel. This trick was originally published some time back…but the quality was poor and mismag decided to republish it in a better quality version. Considering the entertainment value, it really IS an easy trick to perform.

With over one million views, it can’t be bad…

http://streetmagic2.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-easy-great-card-trick-tutorial-video.html

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The One Dollar to Ten Dollar Bill Switch – Video

Yes, this is a classic effect. I’m sure many of you have this in your repertoire. But, for those of you who don’t…this is a great learning video. All the folds are shown in detail and the learning curve is quite easy. Watch this video a couple of times and you’ll be fooling yourself…

http://streetmagic2.blogspot.com/2013/11/one-dollar-to-five-dollar-bill-switch.html

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A Late Addition…Illusionists Barry and Stuart Video

Barry and Stuart visited the offices of the Daily Star to promote their new UKTV show. In the process they grossed out the reporter. Watch the video and read the article. This is very fitting after last month’s feature articles on Melvin Burkhart, the Human Blockhead..

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/showbiz-tv/hot-tv/353978/The-Happenings-Barry-and-Stuart-perform-mind-boggling-spoon-balancing-illusion

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Bonus – David Blaine’s Full TV Special… “Real or Magic”

I must admit.. I enjoyed David’s recent special. Any time we can get a magician on TV in primetime, promoting our art, it’s a good thing. (unless they suck..)

David performed a number of effects generally available to any of us, assuming you know where to look. He put enough of a twist on some effects that they were not readily recognized. Anyway.. here is the full special, in HD no less, for you to watch, or re-watch. I’ve thrown in a bonus interview about 22 minutes in length. I would watch the special quickly, or use Keepvid to download it to your computer, as I have a feeling it won’t be up long… 😉

https://magicroadshow.com/davidblaine.php

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Catastrophe or Textastrophe?  You Decide….

“Next time you post your phone number in a public place, think again. This is a collection of text messages I’ve exchanged with people who have done just that…”

What happens when a wise-guy texts telephone numbers, posted in public places, and causes havoc and headaches? All I can say is this is some funny stuff. Be sure to click the ‘archive’ link to see past text messages. Although it’s funny…it is also contains what I would call ‘swear words’, so if you are offended…just move along…there’s nothing to see here..

http://textastrophe.com/

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Free Photos – Resource

Getting photos from Google images and the websites of others can be very risky. There is a lawyer out there just waiting to send you a nasty letter. Fortunately, there ARE places where you can get totally free pics for your blog or website without having to attribute anything to anyone. (The ‘morgue file’ is commonly a file used by journalists to store resources that they may want to use at a later date with a news item…)

http://www.morguefile.com/archive

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MathMagic – Newly Revised and Expanded, and STILL Totally Free

This excellent little ebook, now almost 30 pages long, is still available as a free download. Believe me.. I have bought math magic books for good money that were not nearly as entertaining as MathMagic.

I wrote it for Magic Roadshow readers…and I have no doubt that you will find something among the effects that you will add to your repertoire. These are NOT your typical counting tricks….

You can actually click this link and read the entire pdf without downloading…although a download link in the upper right will let you save it to your device for future enjoyment..

https://app.box.com/s/ia7054zmh7ix3g78647r

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Free eBooks For Subscribers….

Here’s a link where you can download a variety of free ebooks, including Erdnase’ Expert At The Card Table… If you are not a subscriber, you can sign up HERE..

http://streetmagic.info/cbmall3.html

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That does it for this issue. I hope you found something to help your magic study along. Remember, if you have something you would like to share with the magic community, send it to:
Rick@MagicRoadshow.com

 “May my next issue find you well..”

 Rick Carruth / Editor

Senior Professor – Camelard College of Conjuring of Chemmis, Egypt
“Magic’s Only Worldwide Honor Society”
http://www.camelardcollege.org/

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PDF version…     ROADSHOW 149

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