Confessions of a Conjurer

After an ill advised attempt of dish washing I've thrown my back out. I had already booked today off work in an attempt to catch up on rest and then sort out one or two niggles in my life and maybe even a quick visit home to see the family. I'm now stuck flat on my back apart from brief moments of self imposed physio therapy (also known as tea making). This means I'll finally finish Derren Brown's latest work "Confessions of a Conjurer". This book is aimed at the laymen and doesn't''t reveal much in the way of magical method. Well maybe not physical method, but ethos and psychological handling is mentioned. IT is about 300 pages of rambling stream of consciousness. Initially it is set in the restaurant he first performed close up magic in, but takes a complete tangent every half a page. I'm currently on page 150 and he's JUST started performing a trick for a table. His description of his first approach to a table was perfect, and summed up my first ever approach to a pack of drinkers in a bar. Fortunately I still managed to get out and perform last Friday and Saturday morning at work. Oil and Water went down very well. I performed it for about 15 people in all, and only one noticed where something 'fishy' may have occurred. However much like Derren Brown himself says, the trick lacks reason, it lacks plot. it is purly showing off card manipulation there is no other explanation unlike other tricks where people can believe it was an example of mind twisting spiritual interference or just actual magic.

Gliding Away

I had meant to spend time this week working on the "Elmsley Count". However whilst reaching the slight in my now expanding Library I realised I was missing a wealth of effects by not working on "The Glide". This is one of the simplest slights, but it can be used to great effect it seams/ I am rapidly forming the opinion that you don't get points for being over complicated. Participants are impressed by smoothness and easy handling. That is not to say that complex slights are not to be ignores, merely that easier and more reliable slights can afford some wonderful reactions when you may not be up to performing something complex.

Oil and Water From Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic. Effect. The spectator is shown 6 cards, three black and three red, (ace, two and three in red, four five and six in black) they are shown alternating red black red black red and black but the numbers appear random. The magician shows the bottom card and draws it, placing the card on the top of the deck. this is repeated several times. The magician then hands the pack over to the spectator who then fans the deck to reveal the cards have separated into two halves, red and black, and are now in numeric order.

Reaction Amazingly positive. There is a certain subtle misdirection involved, and I have tweaked the presentation from the book slightly. However all in all this is a very simple method of performing a classic of magic. I Have managed a very clumsy attempt of the Guy Hollingworth version of this trick. Once I can perform it smoothly I shall try each version against each other.

More Card Cheating from Daryl. Well Daryl showed how to control four cards with the "The Glide" I simply used 4 aces and turned it into another " Magicians cheat at cards" again. This time the spectator can say "Stop" when they want me to draw a card into my hand and I still show 4 aces.

Reaction Yet to be used in the wild.

new trick time methinks

Well we are rapidly approaching another night at the Goth club. The last time I was there I had no real new material. Instead I used this time to actually chat and socialize for once. However I need to build up the repertoire some more and more importantly hone what I have and tweak presentation. I've come up with a way of organising my act. On small card I write the name of the trick, what sort of effect the trick is if it uses slights or not and if the card is stacked. I then in one corner on the bottom write the starting stack and on the other corner the finished stack. This way I can group tricks in to theme (eg psychological, card sharp etc) and then work out the best order to work the effects. I already have a 'Starting Stack' that enables me to go through 'Here then there' and 'Do as I do' followed very quickly with 'Aces High'. Hopefully I'll have time today to work though Mark Wilson's course and find some other tricks that work well with this crowd. (there are MANY tricks very early on in the course HOWEVER some build on earlier tricks and so would feel slightly repative). I may see if I can laminate Paul Daniels 'Age Cards' effect and try it out with a few different presnetation.

That awkward stage

I'm at that awkward age. You know when your in your early teens and things a growing too fast and your clumsy. And you suddenly have knowledge of things such as women, but no idea on how to go about doing anything with them? Much like many other things I have studied I've reached a place where I can spot my mistakes very quickly, and I spot a lot of them. I've not gotten any worse as a card handler, I can just see what I'm doing wrong. Wrong is a rather big word for it really, I can see where I need improving. It's at this point many people give up but it's a useful tool in improving. This has happened before with regard to some slights (I may have mentioned it in the past) and each time I work through it I become a better magician. So the 'old school' approach is called for. This isn't a case of buying new books or props, nor is it some sort of self realisation meditation. it's, you guessed it practise.
On the subject of books. Is it so bad that I crave magic books to look just like that, MAGIC. Don't get me wrong, I KNOW what's inside is what's important. BUT I am a very large 5 year old, I like my things to be pretty and shiny. I recommended to a young lady who has just started contact juggling that she take the shiny pretty ball as she's more inclined to practise with it. It's the same with books and e, I love opening absolute magic, it looks like a magical tome, whilst Mark Wilson's course (The definitive magic book) looks like something form the kids department. I'm working through the Mark Wilson book and just dealing with the fact that the first bunch of tricks are just a little too simplistic for my audience. At least without giving major thought to presentation. So I'm not going to buy a new magic book for a few months BUT I am going to buy Derren Browns Confessions of a Conjurer. Apparently it's not so much an auto biography and more a stream of consciousness.