It’S Magic

Is magic only good for fooling small kids and young girls? Think again…

A former lesbian and sex-worker found a new lease of life 6 years ago when she discovered magic. She is now working towards her dream to become the next biggest female magician in Singapore, after a certain famous female “illusionist” in Singapore. I hope she succeed… God bless her.

 

Magic… more than just tricks.

PS: For those who are curious, I actually know all those details about her through her blog. No, I have not spoken to her yet (my friend did though)… but I might have a chance, since she is going to take part in the magic competition we are organising.  

“Second” Deal

It’s been some time since I wrote anything related to magic…

Went to check out a new magic booth last week. It was actually run by the same owner of a magic shop that I frequently visit, but with a bunch of new  demonstrators. As they did not know me, I was treated like a layman, which suited me just fine, as I wanted to see what they were selling to people these days.

There were 2 of them at the booth that day, a guy and a gal, both very youthful looking. The guy attended to me first and proceeded to show me a Svengali Deck. It is an effect where the selected card keeps jumping to the top, and eventually all the card faces in the deck will change into that of the selected card.

After the demo, he tried his best to push me the deck, telling “it is the hottest thing in magic right now…”. And when I told him I actually saw it at 7-11 when I was a kid, he reassured me ” oh, it is making a comeback now.”  Righhhhttt……

I gave him a polite smile, and enquired about another deck. But he tried to dissuade me from that, saying, “it requires a intermediate level of skill”. Righhhhttt again… as I remember the only work required for that particular deck was pulling the cards out of the box. Hmm.. didn’t know that is actually considered an intermediate level of skill to him.

Needless to say, I did not buy anything from him.

Next, the gal came over and proceeded to demo another deck to me. I must say she wasn’t half as skilful as the guy, but at least she didn’t push. And when I asked her to show me a sleight-of-hands effect, she readily admit that she didn’t know any. I decided to reward her honesty by purchasing a normal deck from her (didn’t want to spend too much).

To cut a long story short, I bought a deck with a unique name, “Seconds”. It was relatively cheap, only $1.50 more than my regular decks and the owner told me it had a different “feel” compared to the rest. It was only after I opened the deck, I found out what he really meant by that. It felt different alright… felt much lousier than normal!!

Upon researching, I realized they were called ”Seconds”  because they were actually second grade cards that did not meet up to standards and were repackaged as a cheaper deck in the States. To think they actually had the cheek to sell it at a higher price than a regular deck!!

My God… I would never trust that magic shop again, and never let them rip me off!!

Magic Magic…

Testing out my blog’s new look with some cool looking pics…

Shadow Masters Playing Cards

These are the kind of cards that many young, budding magicians like to use but I find them impractical and too expensive. In view of the economic downturn,  it’s better stick to my $4.50 a deck of normal Bicycle Cards rather than the $15  a deck of Shadow Masters Cards. In any case, I am not even a Master… 

Cyril Takayama

I think he is the best-looking “street magician” with the best dress sense, as compared to people like David Blaine or Criss Angel. Besides his exotic good looks (thanks to his mixed parentage),  he always manage to look so suave and stylish, no matter what he do, much like the magician-version of Andy Lau, exactly the kind you would want to have as a partner at a gala event. No wonder he was the one performing at the Golden Horse Awards (stop envying.. Lu Chen!!).  

XCM

Xtreme Card Manipulation, a skill that magicians hate to admit they love. It makes you look like the God of Gamblers everytime you handle the cards, abeit with little practical purposes other than looking good. But as Ng Man Tat said to Stephen Chow in Du Shen, it’s all about ”Yao Ji Sai, Mo Sa Zhai!!” (roughly translated as Style Over Substance)

On Magic…

A friend of mine just released his magic DVD (or rather 2 DVDs). It’s basically on a technique that is very useful for… eh… winning some money ( no kidding!!). I have no doubt about the quality of the contents inside, as he is after all, a teacher by profession and indeed one of the best cardman I’ve seen… and I’ve seen quite a few. But somehow, he has managed to remain underground for many years.

Anyway, I am not here today to advertise his wares. No, I wouldn’t do that. They are too precious for fall into the hands of laypeople. We magicians do still like to keep some secrets of our own.

Ok, I am digressing here…

Actually the subject I want to bring up here is: What defines a good magician (for laypeople)?

If we ask this question to a bunch of magicians, mostly they would look at technical ability as the main criteria. They would admire the guy who can do the most invisible p**s, the most deceptive DL or back p***ed 50 half dollars in one hand. That’s one of the reason that David Blaine and Criss Angel, who are adored by millions of fans over the world, are generally not held in high regard by most of the magic fraternity. A fact which might surprised you.

To us (yes, for convenience sake, I would call myself a magician for the time), most of the things they do are considered ”commercial effects”, which are mostly mundane, run-of-the-mill tricks, not the high-level, esoteric stuff we are looking out for. 

But Darwin Ortiz in his book, Strong Magic, has correctly pointed out: laypeople is our real audience, not magicians. In fact, magicians are the eaisest to fool most of the time. Just deviate a bit from the standard handling, we would be amazed till no end by that little difference. That’s why in our circle, we have this term called “magician’s effects”, tricks that are designed specifically to fool magicians.

Ok, I am digressing again…

Like the example of my friend above. He is, without a doubt, a highly skilled performer, what we would term as a ”technician”. But is he the best magician to the laypeople? Maybe not… as I don’t think his showmanship is quite there yet.  

There is this other local magician I admire who is a veteran performer with many years of experience. He may not be as techincally gifted as my friend (he admitted it himself), but he has wonderful showmanship. A simple effect in his hands can become a huge enjoyment to watch.

I’d the pleasure of performing with him a couple of times, and I have never fail to be amazed by his ability to make the audience love him (even when he is poking fun at them) But again… is he the best? Could his success with audience more due to his personality rather than the strength of his magic?

Sometimes, I’m afraid we are in danger of diluting magic with too much entertainment. Yet without entertainment, magic can become bore to watch. I am always constantly trying to balance my act by being fun, entertaining and engaging, but without sacrificing the impact of my magic. Admittedly, I am still far far away from it, but I am working…

All Shapes and Sizes

Gone are the days that magicians wore tailcoats, top hats (which usually contained a rabbit) and wield stupid wands. Let’s take a look how they are now…

This is the guy who started the whole “street magic” thingy. Simply dressed in T-shirts, jeans and wore a perpetual montonous expression. 

Criss Angel, the most infamous TV magician after Blaine. Plenty of makeup, mascara and accessories… but if it gets him Cameron Diaz, guess it’s worth the effort.

Sorry guys… not all magicians can be blessed with great looks and sculptured bodies, not even when you are a world champion. The elderly gentleman above is Lennart Green, a FISM (sort of a magic Olympic) champion.

One of the legendary card artists, Jeff McBride who can easily pass off as Gene Simmons.

Dai Vernon, the father of close-up magic. Suave and cool… even for today’s standards.

The sophisticated and educated look by Derren Brown, the style I like most. Too bad… he is gay.

Art or Craft?

Found this definition of “art” on the web:

“Art refers to a diverse range of human activities, creations, and expressions that are appealing or attractive to the senses or have some significance to the mind of an individual. “

Here is definition of craft:

“A craft is a skill, especially involving practical arts.”

As much as we (magicians) would like to think that magic is an art (it can be), it is really a craft to begin with. Not that it doesn’t have the potential to rise up to an artistic level, but before we can even contemplate it in that direction, we need to consider our own level of craft first… that is our skill.

We all love to watch teams like Arsenal or Man U play, so awe-inspiring and pleasing on the eyes (“appealing and attractive to the senses”.. an art).  Pathetically, we all like to pretend we can really play like them at our own weekend kickabout. But for those who know better, you would know how laughable that particular idea is.

 I mean, we all love to imagine we can dribble like Ronaldo, score like Torres or bend it like Beckham, but the reality is… we don’t. If not, we would be playing our football at Old Trafford, San Siro or Nou Camp, not some famous pitch such as St Wilfred or The Cage. Without the kind of skills (craft) that the pros have honed over the years, it is futile and foolish to even talk about “playing like United”.

Back to magic again… How many of us can really claim to execute a natural DL? How many of us can really pull off a perfect side-s***? How many of us can really do a deceptive push through s****le? I mean, too many of us are jumping the gun, trying to pretend we are artist when we haven’t even master or perfect the craft necessary to for the kind of magic that really “reasonate with our hearts.” (paraphrasied from Derren Brown)

I’m still working hard on that… before I can even pompously brand myself an artist.

Heart of a Magician

Whenever I’m doing magic for people, inevitably, there will be some wise crack in the crowd making remarks like, “Bluffing people ah?” or “Cheating young gals ah?”

Now I really want to redress this grievance here… the truth is: we, magicians, never never like to fool (cheat, bluff, con etc..) anybody!! Yes, I’m not joking and I will repeat this again: (Real) MAGICIANS NEVER NEVER LIKE TO FOOL ANYBODY!! It’s true!! In fact, the only people we like to fool is our own fellow magicians during our own gathering.  Our aim in performing magic is to provide our spectators with maximum entertainment and the feeling of bewilderment!! (Wow!! Even I get goosebumps from reading that..)

Yes, as pretentious as it might sound, the joy of a magician is seeing people being amazed, not looking stupid. Behind the scenes, we are always constantly thinking of ways to make our spectators’ experience with magic a bit more comfortable, enjoyable and memorable. We do not delight in making people look like idiots, as much as many insecured people think we are. Why would we make enemies with the very people who is appreciating your art?

In many ways, magicians are much like salespersons, always trying to get people to buy things that add value to their lives (in this case, it’s the magic), but there is always these suspicion from the other side about the motives of the salesperson (or magician).

C’mon, it’s no secret that salespeople wants to earn your money, but not without providing a value in return (products or services). I mean you don’t complain when LV earned your money, or MacDonalds earning it or Starbucks earning it… because they provide a value, tangible or otherwise.

In the same vein, magicians do want your appreciation and attention, but not on without providing you with that sense of wonder  that you can never find from other forms of performing art. I should know… I was constantly amazed by David Copperfield since young and I never forget those feelings.

PS: I can’t speak for all magicians, maybe there might be some arrogant young punks out there spoiling the art for us by wanting to fool their spectators. Not us…

Jam it with Jay

Just saw this picture which I think should share with you guys…

On the right is Nique Tan, a  local magician whom I’ve met a few times (and bought his book) and the person on the left thinks need no introduction… Jay Chou!!

Happened to stumble upon this picture on Nique’s Friendster and my God, and from the description, he was teaching Jay some card effects (Jay is into magic too)!! Now how did he get this chance? Must ask him the next time I see him!!  

Just hope he don’t sue me for using his picture, without copyright.

The Art of Magic

Magic can be quite an addictive hobby. It has the power to amaze your buddies,  to atonish your parents,  to entertain your small nephews and nieces,  to impress the opposite sex and in a negative way, con innocent people. But generally, I believe most of us have pure intentions in acquiring the art.

What many people don’ t realize is that in magic, like any other forms of masteries , there are no shortcuts. One cannot hope to become a good magician without going through the learning curve, even in doing supposedly “self-working” magic like gimmicked cards. Anyone who thinks by just buying all the props from your local magic shop will make one a instant magician, are often doomed to failure and disllusionment.

Throughout my 4 short years of learning, I have watched countless videos, read numerous books, learned from various sources and spent many waking hours in perfecting the techniques and presentation. Not that I am a master at it now, far from it in fact, but at least, I’m able to pull off a number of effects with confidence and competence to entertain most of my audience. Even at this very basic level, it took me 4 years to reach it, and I know of a guy, a very most accomplished card men I know in Singapore, who secretly practiced for 5 years before even attempting 1 trick in public…!!

So for those people who hoped to walk down the royal road of a magic performer, though not necessarily on a professional level, education and effort is a absolute requirement… even the gratifications are not immediate, the long-term rewards will be tremendous.

Encounter with a China Magician

Saw a booth at the World Book Fair today where a china guy was selling magic props and instructional dvds (made by him).

The main items on sale were actually common gimmicked decks used by magicians but with his own packaging. On the cover of the boxes was an image of a famous magician (Mark Wilson) and and the names of the deck was written in Chinese. Wasn’t too sure if this was some kind of infringement of patents and images. 

Next, he showed me his dvds which was selling for $20 a piece. I asked him to demonstrate some effects in it and he proceeded to show me an effect using only 3 cards, which wasn’t really badly done but rather sloppily presented. It was as if he was in a rush to finish the whole thing. I asked if there were other “higher-level” effects (just want to see his standard) and guess what, he showed me some videos, telling me it was done by an “American Master”, selling for only $15.

I asked why the “American videos” were cheaper. He told me, with a straight face, that they were pirated. Hmm..

Next, I took up a deck of Bicycle cards (commonly used by magicians too) and enquired about the price….it was $10!!!! My God, I could have bought a Master Edition for that price!! I played with it for a while, when he asked me if I had learned magic before, because he realized I handled the cards ”quite smoothly” (was tempted to tell him I was actually voted the best magician in s’pore, but I must remain humble ). Anyway, I repiled yes and from that point onwards, he became uninterested in serving me.

But besies me, he had no lack of customers, many were sold on his $80 magic set, consisted of his videos, gimmicked decks and some other little props. I felt quite sad for those people who bought, I mean, those were such low quality stuff and the effects, in my opinion, was really… pathetic. I recalled him telling a customer that “even a moron can do great magic after watching his videos.” Yah right… with the kind of teaching inside, I’m sure we will just have more poorly taught magicians who looked like morons doing corny tricks.

A sad scenario for all those who truly loves the art.