This was so cute. An aspiring magician walked with Michael over to the Majestic Theater in Dallas. My mom and I walked behind. We were charmed by the magic wand sticking of the boys pocket. She kept saying, "This is what magic is all about."
Sunday, July 17, 2011
What magic is all about
This was so cute. An aspiring magician walked with Michael over to the Majestic Theater in Dallas. My mom and I walked behind. We were charmed by the magic wand sticking of the boys pocket. She kept saying, "This is what magic is all about."
Spirit Cabinet Debut
Whew! We made it past the "Legends of Magic" show at the IBM Convention in Dallas (July 2nd). On the bill were Jeff McBride, Frances Willard, Michael and Hannah Ammar, Walter & Becky Blaney, Tom Mullica, Johnny and Pam Thompson, Gay Blackstone and Darren Romeo. It was a lot of fun to be backstage with so many old friends! I'm also glad we got to go on early, so that I could relax and enjoy the rest of the show. What a beautifully produced show, and great convention! I especially enjoyed the video "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes" with custom produced lyrics. It was quite sentimental.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
If I were to give one bit of advice...
This is a response I gave Matlin's Magic blog asking for my turning point when learning magic and what one piece of advice I would give.
The first effect that really resonated with me was the one where you seem to rub a coin or small piece of paper into your arm. Showing it has vanished, you then produce it from your ear or elbow. The method, as I'm sure you know, is that you accidentally drop the coin and in picking it up, you simply fake putting into your other hand so it can seem to vanish.
I knew several typical card tricks up to that point, but I could tell something different was taking place here. Not only did this involve acting, but it also involved true sleight-of-hand.
This meant I had to practice a bit to get it right, but I felt so empowered knowing the reaction I was getting was because of something I did; not because they just didn't know how I had stacked the deck, or whatever.
Having to practice a little to learn that effect made me realize you can get an amazing reaction based purely on your own efforts. I decided to see what would happen if I put even more effort into something. Then I began to notice: the more effort I put into learning something, the better and more satisfying the response was.
Up until then I thought you had to be born a magician. This experience made me realize it was up to me; I could be as good as I decided I'd be; success wasn't a matter of divine intervention, luck, or whatever. It was an epiphany; It's up to me, if it is to be...
If I were to give just one tip to someone regarding magic, it would be to perform as often as possible, then reflect back on the performance to see how much data you can mine from the experience. I think you learn more from 1 live performance than you can from weeks of just thinking about it. So perform as often as possible. There's an old saying, "Everybody needs someplace to be bad." Find someplace that'll tolerate your evolution, then start to build intelligent experience.
The first effect that really resonated with me was the one where you seem to rub a coin or small piece of paper into your arm. Showing it has vanished, you then produce it from your ear or elbow. The method, as I'm sure you know, is that you accidentally drop the coin and in picking it up, you simply fake putting into your other hand so it can seem to vanish.
I knew several typical card tricks up to that point, but I could tell something different was taking place here. Not only did this involve acting, but it also involved true sleight-of-hand.
This meant I had to practice a bit to get it right, but I felt so empowered knowing the reaction I was getting was because of something I did; not because they just didn't know how I had stacked the deck, or whatever.
Having to practice a little to learn that effect made me realize you can get an amazing reaction based purely on your own efforts. I decided to see what would happen if I put even more effort into something. Then I began to notice: the more effort I put into learning something, the better and more satisfying the response was.
Up until then I thought you had to be born a magician. This experience made me realize it was up to me; I could be as good as I decided I'd be; success wasn't a matter of divine intervention, luck, or whatever. It was an epiphany; It's up to me, if it is to be...
If I were to give just one tip to someone regarding magic, it would be to perform as often as possible, then reflect back on the performance to see how much data you can mine from the experience. I think you learn more from 1 live performance than you can from weeks of just thinking about it. So perform as often as possible. There's an old saying, "Everybody needs someplace to be bad." Find someplace that'll tolerate your evolution, then start to build intelligent experience.
Friday, February 25, 2011
30 years of The Topit
We just published the new Topit Pattern this month. Upon reflecting on how it had changed over the years, I realized it's also been 30 years since I published the first one! Time flies!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Michael back from Nepal
Michael has just returned from his trip to Nepal. He was consulting on a show for the Discovery Channel. He came back with so many great images and videos. What a fascinating place! It looks just like you would imagine. He will give more information later about this project.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Memorial for Glenn
Glenn Falkenstein passed away on the 4th of July, 2010. Ironically we were in Hollywood when we got the sad news. It's impossible to be in LA and not think about Glenn. The Magic Castle (especially the Larsen family) were so great in quickly moving to prepare a memorial service for him in just a week. Lots of friends and family gathered in the Palace of Mystery to honor him on Sunday, July 11th. Frances was so grateful to have so many kind words and gestures from the magicians. The Magic Castle had just beautiful flowers for him, and kept them near the "broken wand" picture of Glenn in the entry all week (thanks Matt!). Thank you to all who sent their condolences. We appreciate it more than you know.
Hike behind the Magic Castle
Right behind the Magic Castle is a big nature preserve. I never knew it - I guess I never had a reason to look for parks until this recent trip to Hollywood with the kids. It's called Runyan Canyon - and it's amazing to hike through it. You can quickly get a great view of LA. If you ever try it, just remember to take good tennis shoes and some water!
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