The Disneyland Main Street Magic Shop, run by Houdini's Magic Shop, is now open for business. On initial look, the shop looks a lot like it did before the Houdini's make over with a similar layout as well as product boards and demo counters. The shop opened for business on October 28.

While the shop is filled with the typical tourist-oriented magic tricks that one would expect, I was pleased to see lots of beginning and intermediate magic books, many of them classic titles, which shows that the shop is equipped to fill the needs of those who are serious about learning magic. Overall, the shop is filled with more books and magic tricks than at any other time that I've seen in the past ten years.

When I arrived at the shop, I met none other than Geno Munari, President of Houdini's Magic Shop. I found him to be an enthusiastic cheerleader for magic.

I know that many of you are less than enthusiastic about the Houdini's taking over the beloved Disneyland Magic Shop. But without Houdini's, there would likely be no Main Street magic shop today. And after seeing the shop for myself and watching the courteous demonstrators, I came away with a positive feeling.

I have encountered overzealous salespeople at Las Vegas Houdini's shops, but felt that the new Main Street shop provided a positive magic experience to its visitors. I'm hoping that the Houdini's-branded shop can inspire kids to seriously study magic as the old one did.

More Reading:
Houdini Windows Come to the Disneyland Main Street Magic Shop
A Hit on Disney Magic
Readers Respond to "A Hit on Disney Magic"

According to this article, Allan Grove and Frank Culler of the King Magic Ring in Maryland organized and performed a benefit show to help eight-year-old David Greeley who suffered injuries and had his leg amputated after a serious bike riding accident. The article says that 100% of the show's proceeds were to go to David Greeley's family to assist with his medical bills.

Kudos to Allan Grove, Frank Culler and the King Magic Ring. You are shining examples of those who practice our art of magic. If there are other performers who participated in this worthy effort, please make their names known either through e-mail or comments.

More Reading:
Famous Magicians
Magic Clubs and Conventions

An Occasional Series About Effects That I'm Working On

I wish that every trick that I learn could become "A" material for my stand-up or close-up sets. However, this is clearly not the case as my office is littered with the remnants of tricks that I've worked up and ultimately gave up. I've even been known to occasionally find in my close-up case a long unused packet of gimmicked cards and had no recollection what trick was associated with them.

With this in mind, I was impressed with Daryl's "The (W)hole Thing," a packet trick of jumbo-sized cards that features lots of fun, built-in wordplay and a crazy progression of events. It's much like a "Sidewalk Shuffle" meets "What's Next?" Only thing is, I get far better reactions performing either classic "Sidewalk Shuffle" or "What's Next?"

In Daryl's hands, the trick is fantastic. As you can see in his video, the clever wordplay involves "hole" cards, jumbo cards with holes in them and "whole" cards, jumbo cards that are whole.

I've been trying this trick out at my restaurants and it's been getting good reactions. However, it falls slightly short. It's hard for me to pinpoint exactly what isn't right when I perform the trick, but the progression of events feels rather forced and I can't seem to get the presentation and timing right to unveil the revelations in a manner that gets the maximum reaction.

So, after some time, I can't seem to get this one to feel right and ultimately "groove" with my audiences. But on the other hand, I'm not sure that I'm ready to give up on the trick either. Perhaps it's time to go back and write a new script with a different tact. Or maybe I'll have to ultimately accept that the trick just isn't right for my performing persona.

More Reading:
Seven Themes to Apply to Your Magic
Dealing with Nervousness
The Five Biggest Mistakes Made by Beginning Magicians

According to the article, the researchers concluded that magicians sometimes understand the workings of the human brain better than they did. "The more we thought about it, the more we realized that magicians actually had skills that we didn't have, as scientists," says Dr. Stephen Macknik in the story.

Mac King performed for a subject who's eye movements were closely monitored. The conclusion? "You think you can see everything all at once, when in fact, you can't," says Macknik in the story. "So, the fact is that magicians are able to take advantage of that by knowing that you can only focus in one place while they do something somewhere else."

"We predict that autistics will detect the method in a magic trick better than someone with a Ph.D," Macknik also says in the story. "Autistics are people with deficits in joint attention, so they not only can't pay attention very well to people and where they're supposed to pay attention, but they're kind of repulsed by it.

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Magicians Penn and Teller
Las Vegas Magic Shows

I admit a recent craving for Hulu.com where I've been watching "The Biggest Loser," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Family Guy." I recently discovered that the entire first season of Criss Angel MindFreak is now available to watch online for free via Hulu.

It's interesting for me to go back in time and read my thoughts about Angel's first season. At the time, I even interviewed Angel just as the season got underway. This was long before Angel's Believe show in Las Vegas and all the criticism hurled from the magic community.

I reviewed the first two episodes, "Burned Alive" and "Levitation" in a single review.

I said in my review:
"Despite some great effects and Angel's brooding charisma, the show lacks the uplifting feel and impact of Copperfield's best television specials...Overall, Criss Angel Mindfreak was baffling, mystifying and mostly entertaining, which made it good for magic."

I stand by this statement today.

I also commented on Angel's new look and persona:
"I haven't seen Angel's first television special in a long time, but it seems to me that he is wearing less theatrical make-up these days, and, in interviews, is trying to portray himself as more of an average, affable guy that people can relate to. I think he is intentionally toning the down the extreme elements."

Of course, Angel eventually sold the secret to one of the show's levitations to the public on a DVD. You can watch the episodes, "Burned Alive" and "Levitation" on Hulu.com.

I also reviewed later shows in the season including the "Wine Barrel/Nail Bed" and "Prediction" and you can watch these via Hulu as well ("Wine Barrel", "Nail Bed" and "Prediction").

I said in a review of the entire first season:
"The high level of magic that Angel presented in his first season is a testament to his creativity and hard work and the dedicated efforts and contributions of his magic consultants and staff. While I recognized some magic effects, there were many that simply left me fried."

Was I being too nice? Many of you who wrote me thought so. But thanks to Hulu, you can now view the episodes and decide for yourself.

More Reading:
Review: Criss Angel Believe
About Magician Criss Angel
Interview with Criss Angel

I responded negatively to a recent press release that touted a new firm. "Teach By Magic" promises to instruct teachers on how to use magic to enhance class lessons. In my story, I found the quoted statistics misleading and the "lessons" to actually be simple magic tricks, many of which are already taught here for free.

What irritated me most was that I found the concept downright insulting to teaching professionals. After all, what do magicians know about teaching and standing in front of a classroom of students?

Many of you responded with reactions. Thanks to all who wrote in.

To use magic to teach the lesson is ridiculous. It doesn't speak well for you as a teacher if you have to entertain your students to teach them. While education can be entertaining, education is not entertainment, and shouldn't be treated as such. Sounds like these "Teach by Magic" guys are just out for a quick buck. The educators I know would never go for it.
James Jay, October 13, 2009

I think we can add stuff like this as another reason why the art of magic is not well respected. This kind of stuff just cheapens what magicians do (not to mention what teachers do). Anyone can teach. But not everyone can inspire with their teaching. Anyone can do magic. But few can do it well enough to inspire and capture the imagination.
Unmasked Magician, October 20, 2009

I'm a teacher and I can't believe that these magicians think they have all of the answers. Let's see them prepare a real lesson and spend an entire day with the kids and see how far their simple magic tricks take them. I'm also an amateur magician and I sometimes do tricks for the kids as a reward. The tricks I see on the teacher site are ones that I teach the kids. I find that some of the kids already know these when I teach them. I wouldn't want to try and fool them with those simple tricks. As Wayne says, leave the teaching to the pros.
Vbennet, October 13, 2009

Coincidentally enough, during the past year, I've been using magic to reinforce lessons in Alaska history. The classroom and library programs have been popular enough that I began developing a book and a series of magical effects to highlight American history instruction. First, I would NEVER try to tell teachers how to teach. What I would offer would be a series of magical effects specifically designed to help them do what they do best, and that is educating our young people. What I would hope to present is more than just changing the patter slightly to make the trick seem educational, but something that incorporates curriculum values within the script. It's not easy, and not all tricks can be adapted. But that's where the fun and creativity come in. If you're interested in what I'm doing check out my website, and in particular, join the Society of American Magicians in time to read the December edition of M-U-M. It's even available on line!
Jeff Brown, October 23, 2009

More Reading:
"Teach By Magic" Doesn't Make Grade
The Best of the Easy Tricks
The Best Magic Books for Beginners

When Ellusionist released the first Black Tiger and Ghost themed decks some years back, I loved the edgy look of the cards as well as their quality and feel. However, at the time, I was apprehensive about performing with cards that were not standard Bicycle cards. My initial fear was that spectators may think that the unusual looking cards were gimmicked or trick cards.

But after several years of popular cards in all sorts of colors and designs, most of them manufactured by the U.S. Playing Card Company that produces Bicycle, Bee, Aviator and all the popular brands, I think that magicians are now free to use whatever cards they wish.

Spectators are accustomed to seeing different back designs and some designs can lend to a magician's persona. In particular, I think the cards are fantastic for extreme card manipulation (XCM) and card flourishes as popularized by Jerry Cestkowski and Dan and Dave Buck.

Arcane, the newest theme cards to hit the market, come from Ellusionist. The edgy-looking and attractive cards come in both black and white versions. I like the reverse exposure face cards, the slightly thinner and quality card stock, the gradient indexes that feature a slight fade out and ultra smooth finish that makes fanning smooth as silk. Like the Black Tiger and Ghost Decks, the Arcane decks are manufactured by the U.S. Playing Company for Ellusionist.

I also like another new and edgy deck called the Karnival Assassins from Big Blind Media and the U.S. Playing Card Company. The cards feature skeletons and like the original Karnival cards, were designed by artist Sam Hayles. In addition to a high grade stock the deck offers features for magicians that include: a subtle one-way back design and card revelations on the box's barcode and on a joker.

In the end, it's all about personal preference and the kinds of card that you like to work with and the design that best supports your performing persona. There are lots of choices out there and you can be free to perform with the decks that you like best.

More Reading:
Karnival Cards
Black Tiger Deck, Gaff Deck & Black Book
Xtreme Beginnerz

The Trilogy (3 DVD Set) by Dan And Dave Buck

If you're putting together your stand-up magic act, you're in the exact same situation as reader "Barry" who emailed me and provided the impetus for a thread on our forum.

In this thread, you'll find advice and discussion on stand-up tricks that are good for those who are starting out. These tricks are generally fairly easy to learn and perform and offer lots of entertainment possibilities. And if you have a question about a stand-up effect, this is the perfect place to ask and obtain answers.

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Choosing Tricks That Fit Your Act
The Five Biggest Mistakes Made by Beginning Magicians
How to Master Magic Tricks
Seven Themes To Improve Your Magic

I know that most of you out there are only interested in magic, but if you ever plan to work the kid's party circuit or entertain children, chances are, you'll be asked to create balloon animals in addition to performing a magic show. I know that this is the case among the shows booked by the low-end party planners in Southern California. So here are five essential balloon animals that you need to know.

Also, as I mentioned in my article on why magicians may want to learn balloon animals, my ability to twist balloons has saved me at events. I've arrived at an event ready to stroll for three hours and discovered that there were only 35 people, many of them kids. After entertaining with two or three sets of close-up magic for each table, I was glad that I could make balloons for the kids to fill up the rest of the time.

So on this page, I show you five balloon animals that you need to know to entertain at a party. If you can make these five balloon animals quickly, they'll serve you well in many situations.

Sure, you'll have kids asking if you can make other balloon animals. But with this information, you'll know what you need to learn next to become a competent balloon animal artist and not just someone learning enough to just to get by.

More Reading:
How to Make Balloon Animals
Basics of Balloon Twisting and Balloon Animals
How to Make a Dog Balloon Animal

Daily Show Provides a Winning Magic Routine

I feel that the best way to create involving and entertaining magic is to apply a theme or story. Admittedly, I don't always succeed at this myself, but I'm always trying.

Recently, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" featured an excellent magic segment, "Playing the Race Card," by Larry Wilmore (the magic begins at the three minute mark). While it's notable that a magic routine has been featured on the show, what's impressive here is that the routine successfully mixes a political theme with a standard card trick.

I think that the routine provides a first rate example of what can be accomplished by applying a theme. Instead of simply showing off, as so many magicians do, the routine involves spectators and provides a reason for the various effects. Well done.

And while I'm talking about great routines, I think that the UK's Barry and Stuart are performing some of the most amazing, cutting edge magic that I have ever seen. I'm a fan of their YouTube videos and this "voices/alter ego" routine is among the best that I've seen (warning, it's PG-13). The routine creates a hilarious theme, provides a great setting for the tricks and effectively tells a warped story.

More Reading:
Seven Themes to Apply to Your Magic
Dealing with Nervousness
The Five Biggest Mistakes Made by Beginning Magicians