Everything that we reviewed from Daryl was great. His Acrobatic Knot offered a visual and entertaining effect where a knot jumped from one rope to another amidst other assorted zaniness. And his 3 Fly III offered a visual coins across effect that relied on no gimmicks, left you completely clean and could automatically reset, and let you perform with your sleeves rolled back.
Updating the classic "Ash Trick," Rocco's Stampede System caused a stamped image to mysteriously appear on a spectator's palm. Five different images offered lots of performance possibilities and presentations.
You got to love the playful scoundrels. Bob Sheets' Killer Kitson Miracle offered a powerful and entertaining routine for your strolling arsenal that's based on Patrick Page's "Three-Card Monte" gimmick. And if you’ve always wanted to learn the shell game, Whit Haydn's An Introduction to the Shell Game: Volume 1 on DVD, by The School for Scoundrels, offered an excellent primer.
Of course, the venerable Doc Eason continued to rule bar magic. And if you couldn't see him live, his DVD, "...after all these years..." was the next best thing. This performance-only DVD showed the master at work and there is lots to learn when watching an accomplished entertainer who's done this, at the time of the taping, for 26 years.
For those who want to perform magic in the streets or can use strong stand-up routines that work under almost any condition, Cellini, the street master, offered superb instruction in his Art of Street Performing, New Orleans, Volume II. With varied effects that use silks, coins, ropes, cigarettes and cups and balls, the DVD presented an entire street act.
An innovation in levitation, Yigal Mesika's Spider Pen was an innovative IT reel that offered new options for experienced workers, and functions as a good general reel for novices.
Finally, to perform the classic seance effect, we were impressed with Cannon's Great Escapes' excellent Seance Handcuffs. The gimmicked cuffs worked well and relied on a clever and almost undetectable gimmick.
The Worst of 2005
A new internet scam in 2005 specifically took aim at magicians. Lyndel, who was targeted by scam artists, graciously provided Magic & Illusion with a detailed time line of events so magicians can better understand the scam and recognize it.
-Wayne N. Kawamoto
