Idiosyncratic legerdemain blog.
Editor’s note: Happy Juneteenth. For this occasion, we’re doing away with the PCP (Political Containment Policy). But hey, the excerpt is short. Read on if you dare.
I try my damnedest to be optimistic about the future of magic. I see efforts to make the art form more inclusive, accessible, to champion performers of various stripes, and I take joy in all of it. And then I see another headline about Oz Pearlman, and I once again curse at the gods above.
(more…)It feels like there has been a renewed interest in the Curry Open Prediction plot recently (what with all the drama surrounding Unnamed Magician), and behind the scenes here, it’s a plot we at the Oval have discussed on multiple occasions. Each of us has our own favorite methods, but methods are useless without a presentation.
It feels like 99% of the presentations out there for this and similar plots fall into two veins: prediction and influence. Both of these lean more toward magician-centric than participant-centric, and the specific mechanics of the plot don’t seem well-justified by either of these presentations. So here’s my attempt at truly making the participant the star of the show in a presentation that feels grounded in reality and makes the mechanics make sense in context:
“Have you ever seen those IQ tests where they give a sequence of abstract images they say form a pattern and then ask you what the next one in the series should be?”
“After the first few easy ones, I always struggle with figuring out what the rule is supposed to be with those things. But it feels like I get them right more often than I should even when I’m just guessing. It’s like my intuition is better at continuing a pattern than my rational mind is at explaining how that pattern is constructed. So the last time I played with them, I tried a trick: I overloaded my brain to see if I could get that rational part of my mind to just reinforce instead of override my intuition. The way I do it is like this: I sing an old song I know the lyrics to while I study the pattern, and then, even if I can’t figure out what the rule I’m supposed to be following is, I just go with my gut after a minute or so. Would you like to see if it works for you?”
(more…)It may seem crass for a lesbian to give dating advice on a magic blog, especially when the nature of this place means I can’t prove myself as an expert. But, to assert myself for a moment, I’m a very good flirt. I’ve spent many a night going to a bar or a club, finding some stranger to talk to, and ending the night at said stranger’s house. I’ve also been consulted on how to flirt by most of my friends, so I have advice to give. And flirting, or being flirty, or even just being charismatic, is something magicians tend to be absolutely dog-shit at, so I figure I could help some of y’all out with some actual decent advice that doesn’t come from a misogynistic douchebag man. I’ll explain how this all applies to performing towards the end, but first, advice.
You know stock pick-up lines? Those god-awful attempts at compliment and rapport that normally just result in the flirter coming across as awkward, creepy, or cringe? “Are you from Tennessee? Because you’re the only ten I see,” “Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?” “I seem to have lost my phone number. Can I have yours?” That shit? I want to start here, because lines like these are often where people start out when looking to display charisma they’re not confident they have. These lines don’t work, but it’s important to understand why they don’t work. It’s not just because they’re bad or ineffective: it’s because they lack context.
(more…)I was performing one of my favourite effects for my friend the other day, the swami-divined number. I understand the swami can be used in ways that are much more interesting than guessing a shitty two-digit number. I just find myself going back to it again and again because of the sheer directness, great reactions, and just how fun it is to perform. I digress.
Editor’s note: Switching to posting Friday instead of Sunday.
Psychological research shows that small amounts of alcohol can lower inhibitions enough to improve certain kinds of creativity.1 But those papers frequently qualify that with “however, getting completely shit-faced has never helped anyone’s bottom line.” Or, you know, something equivalent in dry academic language.
On the other hand, Michael Baker from The Magic Company drunkenly stumbled upon a massive improvement to a classic prop and doesn’t even seem to realize it:
The following presents two alternative approaches for shuffling on behalf of audiences who are on the other side of a camera from two different Oval writers. We’ll start with Drew’s take, and move on to Franklin’s which you can do half asleep.
The following technique was inspired by my friend who was performing a card trick for me over Skype. The trick he was doing starts from a shuffled deck, and he wanted me to know that the deck could start in a random order. He said “If you were here, you could shuffle it any way you wanted. Since you’re not here, just tell me how to shuffle. Do you want me to overhand, cut, or riffle?” Whatever shuffle I chose, he proceeded to do the cleanest, slowest version of that shuffle he could for me.
(more…)Editor’s note: Short post this time. We have several meatier posts in the queue, but they need a bit more polish. So use the time we’re saving you today wisely so you’ll have more time to read in the coming weeks.
This is a small way to improve the revelation of a folded card. It’s something I’ve done in performances to ensure any drama isn’t lost.
If you fold a card into quarters, the indices of the card usually peek out and you run the fairly large chance of ruining the revelation before they unfold the card. They see what card it is before they even unfold it.
If the technicalities of your effect permit you, try this simple approach instead.
(more…)On page 13 of desTROYers, Joshua Jay wrote something that completely changed how I perform (I know, I think it’s strange that he’d say something insightful too!). In a section within the chapter “Commentary” labeled “…Troy Touch” he describes Troy Hooser’s technique this way:
“The first noticeable difference in Troy’s work is his unique touch. He grips objects with an effortless, light grip that actually produces the illusion of weightlessness within the handled objects. It is often surprising to examine heavy silver dollars after Troy has performed because they appear like feathers in his hands, jumping about in an animated fashion, as if carried by the wind.”
This description struck me because of how well it portrayed a kind of beauty that I was seeking in my work. And while I’ve never gotten to see Hooser perform live, nor have I conferred with him about how he achieved this quality (or even if he thinks it’s accurate), it made me think about how I could find it in my own manipulations, particularly in my sleight specialty, coins (sorry card-cunts, you’ll have to sit this one out). And, of course, it took a while to show, but given the ways in which my manipulation has been complimented since this work started, I’d like to think I have some semblance of it. So here’s how I did it:
(more…)We all know and love Paul Harris’s Vanishing Deck. A true modern classic. I’m a big fan of it because it’s cheap and easy to set up, and once you know how to make one, you have a very versatile and powerful gimmick for life. I’ve been fooling around with it again lately and I wanted to share how I’ve been presenting it.
When I first read Paul’s standard presentation for his Vanishing Deck, I wasn’t a huge fan of it. I mean, having them think of a card, saying it vanished, then vanishing the whole deck (but not the Joker for some mysterious reason) because “you take no chances”? Eh. Mr. Harris, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry and I love you… but no, just no.
In the book I really enjoyed the alternate idea of pushing the deck through the box, and making it be a visual moment. What follows is my tiny presentational tweak on Paul’s effect, born from trying to justify that pesky leftover Joker at the end.
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