Awhile ago I aquired a Joseph Silk Gun. This is a pistol that you put a silk ontop of and the silk disappears.
Here’s what it looks like in action:
The vanish looks like trick photography! Unfortunately, there’s really nowhere that I would use a gun in a performance. Maybe if you did some sort of vignette, but that’s about it.
I’m going to try to find time to make a video of it with a Crystal Cube prop. Both the vanish and production would be instant!
-Louie
It’s been a while since I’ve made any chop cups, and yesterday I made a batch of dice cup chop cups. I made these to take to the Portland Magic Jam this weekend.
Internally, there’s not much to it, it’s a magnet in a cup. I 3D print a magnet puck, and cover it with the same material that lines the cup.
Then I make a set of chopped dice, so one is regular, and the other has a magnet load.
I’m going to package these with an 8 Ball for the final load and sell them as a set. If I have any left after the Portland Magic Jam, I’ll offer them for sale here.
-Louie
Last week I was doing a show for a senior community and here’s what my 45 min show looks like:
The props are in the bottom case, and on top of that is my Bose s1 pro. I’ve seen pictures of some people who bring in elaborate setups, and that definitely makes the show look bigger, but it’s not for me. I no longer bring in backdrops, for me, it didn’t make the show play any better. Sure, there are times I wish I had them because whatever is behind me is distracting or makes the show hard to watch, I don’t encounter them enough to make me want to pack and set up a backdrop.
I’m also using the facility’s TV or projector more and more. I don’t do close up magic to it, but I use it to make smaller things play bigger! This is easy to do, just plug a camera into their TV’s HDMI port. Boom done.
I used to take a wireless system HDMI to these shows, but it’s just easier to have 25 feet of HDMI cord. Simple and quick set up.
-Louie
PS: If you’re interested in doing shows for senior communities, check out my book How to Perform for Seniors at
https://www.magicshow.tips/how-to-perform-for-seniors-book/
Magicians frequently say that the modern style of vanishing birdcage doesn’t look like a cage. They really don’t, however cages that look like them do exists. I cme across them every now and then, here’s one:
and here’s another:
In real life, there really isn’t a birdcage that’s handheld anymore. Modern birdcages for pets are giant. No one really uses a handheld cage anymore.
-Louie
Here’s the first videos of what I’m calling A Toast To Nick Trost. These are videos where I do a trick from The Card Magic of Nick Trost as written, and then I do a variation of the trick that I’ve come up with. Usually this is just adding a move or theme that didn’t exist when Nick came up with the trick.
Here’s Nick’s Observation Test:
And here’s my updated version of the trick:
Here’s a quick tutorial of my version:
I think what I like about my update is the final display of the cards face up, then flipping the cards face down to reveal the color change!
-Louie
Are we at the point where this is modern card magic:
I’m trying to decide whether I’m a grumpy old man afraid of change, or if something like this is a step in the wrong direction. Sure, you can do a cool trick with this deck, but is this what card magic needs?
Are we at a point where someone asks you to show them a card trick and you can’t because your deck isn’t charged?
I don’t know.
-Louie
Nick Trost was a BEAST! He was a pioneer of modern card magic. I’m rereading The Card Magic of Nick Trost. One of the things that I’m doing is learning the original routine and then trying to update or add something to each routine. I’m only four tricks into the book, which has 122 effects!!!
The second trick in the book is the 7 Card Count and after Nick’s original routine there’s a Rollins-Hamman-Longe variation of it. The first trick is good, but this version is better!
I did come up with a variation on the original, but also a variation on the variation! If you have the book, it’s the exact same set up and routine, except these are the card, and the final display is slightly different.
The card second to the left has a picture of a stop sign, but it could just be a blank card that says “stop”.
What this setup does is change it so each card that’s eliminated reappears in the packet. Also, I like the 1-2-3 of each color to sell the premise of only using three cards of each color.
Right before the final display, you’ll have three face up black cards, and you’d normally put them on the bottom, in this case put them face down on top. Next, pull the three red cards one at a time off the bottom and deal them face up on the table. Then deal the top three cards (black) face up onto the table, and that will leave you with the final (stop) card face down in your hand. Say, “This never works, we might as well stop now” and then reveal the final card!
The only downside is this trick is no longer impromptu.
I have a bunch of cards from a FA-KO deck, but I don’t have the booklet. One of the cards has a picture of a stop sign on it, and I started playing with it and this is what I came up with:
It’s pretty basic; the first is a second deal, and the second is the drop force.
I’m just “meh” at a second deal; if there’s no heat, it’s fine. One thing I noticed that’s a tell with most magicians that they’re not dealing the top card is when the hand holding the deck swings back and forth. I think that movement is magician’s thinking: “the big motion hides the smaller motion,” and I guess it does, but it doesn’t look right. I’ve noticed that when I try to keep my hand holding the deck static, my second deal flies by more magicians than when it moves.
I guess that’s a tip for the second deal?
-Louie
One of the tricks that I’m working on for a tour in April needs an opaque, tall, tulip-style ice cream cup. I spent hours searching thrift stores online and didn’t quite find anything I liked…well I did, but I also didn’t want to buy 36 of them!
I finally gave up on trying to find one that already exists and decided to design my own. The nice thing about this is that I get something that is what I want, instead of the potential limitations of gimmicking something that is already made.
Here’s what the trick looks like in my garage:
The ice cream scoop is something that Dan Harlan sells called The Scoop and he even posted this on his social media:
The cup is my design, and here’s what is it:
Obviously, you don’t need to use The Scoop with it; it would work great with a loop ball or just sleight of hand with a ball. Anything you can fake put into it would turn to the streamers.
Ok, so why did I make a full glass, when I don’t show it empty at the start and could just put confetti in it?
Simple, clean up.
There’s no cleanup with streamers; no one needs to sweep or vacuum them up.
For me, this is the perfect solution for the second half of turning ice cream into something exciting!
-Louie
PS: If you want one of these, contact me for pricing!
One trick I learned as a teenager from Al Schneider was the Zombie Floating Ball. It’s also trick that I’ve never really done as more than a one off sort of trick. In the school assembly tour I’m doing in April I need to make a rock float, so the zombie method is what makes the most sense.
My gimmick is based on the Tommy Wonder style gimmick from his books, but modified to something that I could make and it’s detachable from the sponge rock.
I’ve also never really had any levitation’s in my show, so I’m excited to learn the ins and outs of performing one!
-Louie
PS Tommy Wonder’s brother has posted the VHS that came with Tommy’s Zombie on youtube: https://youtu.be/MRTY4jjtH1o?si=gkcGjQaMjRLXAuUK
