I really want to be out working on my routine for The (W)hole Thing and with the miscut cards I got from the printer, the set I ordered won’t work. To make them workable, I trimmed 1/4 inch off of the three cards that weren’t miscut and now I have a workable set.
This set works, but I’m not a fan of the card with the red rectangle being off center. However this is giving me a set to work with until the printer sends me cards that aren’t miscut.
-Louie
The custom set of cards I had made for The (W)hole thing were a bit too thin as well. If I’m backlit, you can see through them. I anticipated this problem and had thought of a plan.
How most playing cards are made is that they have two layers and in between those two layers there’s a layer of black glue. This glue makes it so that you can’t see through the card when it’s backlit.
I’m taking two of my custom printed cards and gluing a layer of black construction paper between them. This makes it impossible for the back image to be visible when I’m back lit AND the three layers makes the cards nice and rigid.
-Louie
The custom cards I had printed for my The (W)hole Thing showed up and they miscut one on the cards!
It’s not off center, the card is the wrong size. It should be 8.5 x 5.5 inches, but it’s 8.25 x 5.25. The rest of the cards are the correct size, so this one card is physically smaller than the rest and doesn’t look right.
I just contacted the printed and hopefully they can send me a replacement fast as I’m hitting the road for over a month and I would like to be using them while I’m out!
-Louie
Someone asked me about how the Flic Button works for controlling music. It’s pretty simple, the button has three things is can do which are triggered by a click, double click and press and hold. For me I use those as Play/Pause, Next Track, and Previous Track.
You can use multiple buttons, so I may use a second one for volume and up and down, but for now one is working.
For a simple and cheap audio device for smaller shows, I’m really liking the Flic Button!
-Louie
A bit ago I started using a Flic Button to control the audio for one of the shows that I do. It’s working great!
The Flic Button gives me simple play/pause, play next and play previous options. For this show that I’m using it in, that’s really all that I need it for.
I’m playing with doing a lot of other things using the Flic Button and was trying to figure out a way to hide it. I ended up building one into a Sanada Gimmick!
I took the electronics out of the plastic shell it comes in and this greatly reduced the profile of the button allowing it to comfortably fit on the back of the Sanada Gimmick.
This will help me for applications where I need the button in my hand, but don’t want it “visible”.
-Louie
The routine I’m working on for The (W)hole Thing by Emerson and West is intended for for family/adult audiences. The other day I threw it in my case when I went out to do some summer camp shows:
I thought the concept of the whole/hole wouldn’t hit with kids. Much to my surprise the kids liked the trick and got the idea of the verbal concept behind the routine. For the trick to work, the kids need to be able to read, so I probably wouldn’t do it for kids much younger than second grade.
Now I’m just waiting for my custom cards to arrive from the printer, so that I have a fancier set that what I made for myself.
-Louie
Recently I was hanging out with some magicians and Eric Stevens showed us is Warp Two. Essentially this is a card where the image moves and and looks really strange.
I was playing with it and had an idea for how to work it. Then I saw post from Kevin Peel that he needed people for his Virtual Open Mic Magic show that happens on Wednesdays. I decided to pop in and try out the trick.
It’s a quick bit, but I think the idea of using your glasses to show the image change is a good quick presentational hook and much better than, “hey watch this”.
-Louie
This year I’m performing about one hundred days outside at fairgrounds across the USA. That’s a lot of shows outside! Over the years I’ve learned a few things to make performing outdoors a little easier on your body. This is what works for me, your mileage may vary.
Hydrate: If you’re going to be performing outdoors, you need to hydrate. That doesn’t mean just drinking water during your show, it means drinking water the day before your outdoor gig. You need to start the day hydrated. For me that means drinking at least a gallon of water a day the day before my first day of outdoor gigs and at least a gallon every day I’m in the sun.
A good indicator of hydration is the color of your pee. More info on this is at https://www.healthline.com/health/hydration-chart
Sunblock: Use it correctly. Apply it 15-30 before you’re in the sun. I use one that’s for waterproof or for “sport” due to sweating during the show.
Summer Costume: You need something to wear that’s consistent with your character that is also lighter weight and breathable. One thing that I do is have a version of what I wear onstage for indoor gigs, but had a tailor convert the pants into shorts and cut the sleeves short. It makes a huge difference!
Keeping Fresh: Use a 50/50 mix of water and cheap vodka and put it into a spray bottle. I use this to deodorize my clothes between shows or at the end of the day. More info at: https://thewardrobeguide.com/vodka-spray-for-costumes/
Stay Dry: I keep a hand towel in my case to dry myself off during shows when I get sweaty. A magician dripping with sweat isn’t the best look.
Take Breaks: In between shows I get out of the sun. There’s no shame in sitting for a bit in your car with the AC on to cool off.
-Louie
It feels like it’s taking me for ever to get through the Vallarino book!
One of the tricks in the transposition section is an Queen / Ace Transposition. I think JP Vallarino made it a little too complex. Here’s my streamlined version of it:
@louiefoxx Fast Card Trick! #fourqueens #fouraces #cardtrick #magictrick @bicyclecardsofficial #louiefoxx #jpvallarino #vallarino #vanishinginc #magicbook #cardmagic #sleightofhand ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx
It’s a super quick swap of the two packets. It’d be a good transition bit, it’s not a full routine on it’s own.
-Louie
In my library show this summer (which is actually my school assembly show) I do a bit with handcuffs. The handcuffs are jump cuffs with and additional gimmick that I added.
If you don’t know, jump cuffs you can show that they work, but you can instantly get out of them. They’re 99.9% effective, but there’s still a .01% that something funky could happen. Because of this very small percentage of risk, I keep a set of handcuff keys in my case.
In my routine, the cuffs aren’t part of the escape, they’re a surprise, but I need to get in and out of them quickly. No one knows they’re there until you see them, so the keys never need to be part of the routine like they would if I was escaping from the handcuff and they were the focal point of the routine.
The chances of me not being able to unlock them is insanely low, but keeping the set of keys is insurance. also the keys take up virtually no space in my case, so it’s not a big deal to haul them around.
This is a good example of what can go wrong in a trick and what would you do.
-Louie
