I have a prop that I altered to run off of an ankle switch. I made a simple holder for the straps to hold the magnet and the switch. These are the tops of an old pair of socks that I cut off.
I simply folded them in half upwards to make a little pocket. Then I sewed them to make the pocket hold the magnet or button. Simple solution, however if I keep the prop running this way, I’m going to make a better version.
-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
Not all media spots are rockstar spots. Here’s one that I did, and it was fine:
I should have cut out the multiple force and maybe just started with the card selected. I was very rushed for the trick, and while I think it played OK, it would have been better if I did it slower.
One thing I did do before we started was that I told the reporter that I was going to ask them to draw something on a card. I wanted them to think of something simple to draw so we didn’t waste time for them thinking of a card.
If you’ve never done a live, on location TV spot, they can be very challenging. You get a general idea of how much time you have, but that can quickly change and change during the media spot while you’re performing and you have no idea. Before live media spots, I always try to come up with a signal for the reporter to give me when I need to wrap it up. There’s usually a producer talking in their ear telling them how much time we have or don’t have left.
These live spots are fun, but also very challenging!
-Louie
After long wait, I finally got some custom made gimmicks for my penny to keychain trick.
These were worth the wait and way better than what I had been using for the trick. Having been in magic and creating magic for a while, I’ve got a network of magic builders that I can reach out to for custom projects.
I had a few of these made, as the cost to make one is pretty high, but getting a dozen isn’t much more. I’m hoping to write up instructions for these and have a few of them for sale soon!
-Louie
Some friends and I were texting horrible variation of existing magic tricks. One of my ideas was the “dimmest” D’lite! Then my buddy Chris used AI to make them into packaged magic tricks.
It came out well! He uses AI for his work, and gave me some tips on how to use AI more effectively to create things. I think that effectively communicating with AI is going to be a skill that will be helpful. It’s a modern version of knowing how to use photoshop (which I don’t know how to use).
-Louie
When I have down time when I’m on the road I pop by junk shops and try to find old magic props or unopened bicycle cards from Cincinnati. Usually I don’t find much, but the other day I found a Deland Deck:
I also found this lid that looks like the top of a dove pan!
The lid was lacking the spring clips inside, so a quick search on Google and I learned it’s the lid from a serving tray. I guess that the dove pan is actually something in real life…well halfway. The metal bowl isn’t something that would have been with it, it would be paired with a flat tray.
I always love finding the real life item that props are trying to mimic!
-Louie
There are some magic products that just shouldn’t exist. This is one of the products:
It’s a cheat sheet for the invisible deck. Let’s start with the memory, you really need to remember two things. You need to remember which side of the deck is even, and hearts to spades, that’s it. For the math, you need to be able to subtract a number from 13.
It’s not too hard, however, it that’s too much for you, you can eliminate the math and memory by simply opening the flap and looking at which side is towards you. Then removing them from the box the correct way and fanning them vertically while looking for the named card. Boom, no math, no memory, no need for an Invisible Deck Crib.
OK, so is this solving a problem? If you’re not going to put the time into learn a trick, you really should be doing it. I suspect that’s what’s behind all the versions of ACAAN that are marketed, it’s to try to make the trick accessible to lazy magicians.
Maybe someone has a learning disability and can’t do the math in their head? OK, there are lots of things that I don’t do because I don’t have the ability to do them. For example I can’t use memory pegs because I have a thing called Aphantasia, however I was able to learn a memorized deck. It took a lot of work and I had to create little things to help me learn it. I wanted to learn to a memorized deck, so I figured out a way.
Now let me mention the worst line in magic advertising:
“eliminates memory and math (or commonly sleight of hand) to allow you to focus on performing.”
This makes it seem like you can’t do the two at the same time. Let’s look at famous magicians:
Darren Brown, David Copperfield, David Blaine, Doug Henning, and Criss Angel
All of them do or have done technically challenging things in their shows and could still entertain with it. Why can’t you?
If the answer is because it takes practice, then maybe performing magic isn’t for you.
Believe in yourself, you can do it!
-Louie
Yesterday I mentioned that I paid $15 for a box of magic stuff. All I had to go off of was the picture below:
Well, when I went to pick it up, it was actually 4 boxes!
This led to a challenge as I’m travelling right now, so my car has my show in it and I won’t be home for a few days. Also quite often old magic has a musty smell, and I don’t want to have that smell in my car all week and I just don’t have space for it.
I stopped at a grocery story and used their parking lot to sort through the boxes. Like most boxes of used magic, most of the stuff is junk.
Here’s an overall look at some of the boxes:
The VHS tapes have great material on them, I dont’ have a VHS player and there’s really no market for them. I did find a lo
The stuff that I didn’t want filtered down the magic food chain. These were left at a performer’s house who lives near where I got the boxes.
Here’s the pile of stuff that I kept:
There’s a MAK french arm chopper, MAK Chen Lee Water Suspension, snake basket, multiplying bottles (india), sword thru neck (india), and a lot of other misc stuff.
One of the surprises were two Ormand McGill books and they both were signed!
These boxes of magic were a solid buy for $15 and since I was in the area and didn’t have to travel to get them.
-Louie
I’m really liking using “projection” in library shows. It gives my lower production show production value. Some people’s library shows have a lot of “curb appeal” with backdrops, banners, etc. My set up in fairly minimal for things like that. It’s a case on the table and if they have a TV or projected, then a second table with a camera.
There are a couple of schools of thought on this. You want the audience to walk in and go “wow” when they see the set up. Personally I don’t care about this as the moment the audience starts walking in my preshow starts. I’m talking to them, and doing things. For me the library show starts when the doors open. My personality is selling the show, not a back drop.
Would it be better if I had fancy backdrops? Yes it would. Honestly I should level up the curb appeal of my show. It’s hard to be motivated to do that when I’ve got as many libraries as my schedule can handle and I’m not a full time library performer who does 150 of them in the summer.
Don’t be lazy like me.
-Louie
I’ve been doing a coin to key chain for a while now and I love it! The effect is you show your lucky coin that’s permanently embedded in a fob. Then another coin is signed and reappears as your lucky coin that’s permanently embedded in your key chain!
The lucky coin could be given out in its holder as a souvenir!
What I love about this trick is that it lives on my keychain, all I need to do is borrow a marker! I’ll probably make a batch of these at some point and offer them for sale.
-Louie
