Last year I added an ankle switch to a set of my remote control chattering teeth. That allows hands free operation of the teeth. I’ve used them all summer and they’re working great!
Here’s a quick demo of them:
@louiefoxx I put an ankle switch into a set of Chattering Teeth! #magic #joke #dentist ♬ original sound Louie Foxx
When my summer season ends in a late September, I plan on making a batch of them for sale. Keep an eye out for them!
-Louie
Social media has created lazy performers. They crowdsource their research without doing the most basic research first, or worst they crowdsource their show!
Here’s an example of a post recently in a magic group:
First of all…pulling a condom from the ear????? Without context that wouldn’t fly in the USA.
Now let’s get to the meat of what they are saying, they want to put together a list of bits that magicians use. Here’s what’s wrong with that, most of the bits magicians consider “stock” are simply lines that have been stolen over and over again and no one thought to look for the joke originator for permission.
Here’s a publicly posted video from the magician that made that post’s FB page:
Do you think he wrote that joke?
No, he heard someone else say it and he put it into his act. I know the defense is that “it’s so old, no one knows who came up with it“. That’s not true, with a little bit of research the history of that specific joke can be found, it’s a little murky as it has evolved, but some of the history is out there.
That’s all for today, I’ll get off my soapbox.
-Louie
I do my best to not cancel shows at fairs due to rain. Yes, there are times to not do the show, like if the stage isn’t covered and my gear is getting rained on. It’s important to look down the road, and if my show props get damaged today and I can’t work next week, that’s a problem.
Last week I was at a fair and it was the morning show, so it was slower and it was raining. Normally what I would do is stand on stage and work on jokes or routines that don’t involve spectators. But I’m on stage and on mic the for my time slot. I just happened to have my crank organ with me, so I put it onstage and played some music!
@louiefoxx Playing the organ because my magic show got rained out! #vanhalen #jump #organ #music #rainyday ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx
After a couple of songs it drew about 8 people over, I gave them chairs onstage so they weren’t on the rain. Then I did a close up magic show for them. It was fun and the show still happened!
Don’t just cancel shows, try to make something happen! It’s fun and takes you out of your normal routine!
-Louie
Magicians always ask me where I get a lot of the vintage magic props. I seek them out while I’m travelling. When I was performing in Napa, CA I found someone with a box of magic from the 1970’s. Here’s a quick video of it:
@louiefoxx Hunting for Vintage Magic Tricks #magictricks #magic #treasure ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx
Honestly, this box was just “meh” for me. There’s one thing that I want for my personal collection.
I am kinda excited to try to 3d print the gimmicks the two die boxes. It shouldn’t be too hard and they’re not complex shapes. The challenge will be making the hinge for the yellow die, but even that shouldn’t be too difficult.
For fun, I had AI make me a painting of the magic props on the desk of my hotel room.
I was playing around with some ideas of tricks to record with my Ray Ban Meta Glasses. One of the neat things is that if I do a magic trick to a mirror, you can record both sides of the trick simultaneously.
Here’s my attempt at doing that:
@louiefoxx Backstage at the magic show #cardtrick #magic #mirrior ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx
I think it came out well and is a good choice of trick as both sides of the card change, so there’s a good reason to show both sides of the cards!
-Louie
Today’s vintage magic trick is Nick Trost’s Cardcentration. The effect is a prediction of which card out of 8 that someone will pick, then there’s a kicker ending.
Here’s what it looks like:
@louiefoxx Vintage Magic Trick: Nick Trost’s Cardcentration! #cardtrick #magic #magictrick #vintage #cardmagic #louiefoxx #nicktrost #closeupmagic ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx
The effect of this trick is great, the method is garbage. There’s no reason for the envelope, you put a card into it, then immediately take it out. This trick would be equally as strong if you did the hot rod force, Quinta force, or the PATEO force. Sure, there’s nothing to sell if you don’t have a gimmick, but those would be superior methods.
I will say that of the three times I did this trick, only once no one asked to look at the envelope after the trick. That confirms to me that it’s the weak spot in the trick. Sure I could have come up with a reason or way to justify the envelope, but I try to do these tricks as written up in the original instructions to preserve what the creator intended.
-Louie
Awhile ago I found a set of lecture notes called Something From the East by Haruhito Hirata. In the notes there was an oil and water trick that wasn’t for me, but it did have one part that did appeal to me. The cards were dealt out in rows and then the rows were mixed. The cards then separated by color.
The method was fairly complex and involved. I thought the trick could be streamlined a little bit, so I came up with this:
Then I realized that I could get a bonus trick out of it if the cards had different colored backs, so here’s the second version:
I’d like to get a third effect out of it, but not sure what that would be. Maybe it’ll come to me one day…
-Louie
Sometimes I see a trick and I’m not sure how I feel about it. The effect is a coins through table, but with jumbo coins.
Watch the video:
From a magician’s standpoint the jumbo coins add difficulty. From a non-magician standpoint, I’m not sure if it enhances the effect. Sure, everyone knows that doing sleight of hand with a 3 inch diameter coin is much harder than with a 1 inch diameter coin. That difference is something that doesn’t really matter in the moment, unless you sell the trick as a “try to catch me” sort of trick.
Also, why jumbo coins?
I get that it’s a coin trick made bigger, but wouldn’t drink coasters work instead of the jumbo coins. Now you have a trick with a natural object that belongs on a table.
I think the effect in the video is very well done, however not sure how I feel about the trick.
-Louie
The Destiny Deck by Nick Trost is a fun little routine that has a few effects that happen one after the other. Here’s what the trick looks like:
@louiefoxx Vintage Magic Trick! Destiny Deck by Nick Trost! #magictrick #cardtrick #vintagemagic #cardmagic#nicktrost #louiefoxx #dice #closeupmagic #antiquemagic #antique ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx
What I’d probably do to change the trick is eliminate the dice and have people hold up fingers for their number. That frees up some pocket space and the trick will still work. It’s a fun trick to do, the only problem is the reset and because of that it’s something that I really won’t carry with me. However I did have fun doing it for a couple of days!
Also it looks like Abbott’s Magic has a few left in stock: https://abbottmagic.com/shop/ols/products/nick-trost-destiny-deck
-Louie
There have been several viral videos on social media of a guy doing floating paper at a coffee shop. His name is Arnold Drake World and the coffee shop he’s at is the one attached to Powell’s Books. When I was there over the weekend, I caught him doing his thing!
It was cool to see this live!
You can learn more about him in this news article.
– Louie
