I guess this is why I should never give a quick impression on a new trick or DVD. I fell victim to the novelty here and failed to realize how bad this really is.

I don’t get too caught up in the safety stuff – I’m tired of warnings, security and other PC concerns, but I would hope a normal thinking person would take the necessary precautions. Those that can’t see the issue are too dumb to live anyway. I believe it’s called Darwin’s Law.

I guess this might be useful for grossing out the local space queens, but those of us that try to maintain a degree of decorum and dignity in our shows will find it useless.

This may tarnish Bob Kohler’s reputation for quality products – only time will tell.

Take care……… 
 

Damn if I know. I’ve been in the process of converting a machine to Vista. What a nightmare.

I spent most of the weekend and today just trying to get it to behave as well as XP. I see No – ABSOLUTELY NO – reason to buy this thing. There are a couple of cool visual effects and it’s a little more intelligent in some processes, but that, in no way, makes up for the incredibly lame security implementations.

By the way, just in case you think the ol’ i/m is crashing a little ahead of schedule, I’m doing this as a learning experience. I have customers that use it and I need to have a working knowledge.

Take care……… 
 

Live like you’re going to die tomorrow. Learn like you’re going to live forever.

I had a chance to view Bob Kohler’s IVanish for the 1^st time today. As I’ve often said – he writes the best ad copy since Jeff Busby. Sometimes the trick is worth it – sometimes not. This may well prove to be of the former variety.

Generally, I’m not a big fan of single trick DVDs as they tend to be over-priced and over-hyped. Bob has priced this right at $25.

The explanations are excellent. Well photographed and carefully described. If I have a nit, it’s that the trick is probable more subject to angles than implied, but that is true of much modern coin magic.

Time will show its worth.

Take care……… 
 

It looks like I’ll have to buy my own Christmas present this year if I’m going to get one. My mother, rest her soul, loved Christmas and even in her last years she always made sure her boy had a present. I don’t know if I ever let her know how much that really meant to me. I think she knew. I hope she did. (There’s a lesson there) My wife and I bought a “house” gift and my mother-in-law is in the hospital. …..so I guess it’s up to i/m to do it for himself – old age blows!!

Anyway, the longer you’ve been in magic, the less you are interested in “tricks”. I went to a magic estate auction recently and saw a lifetime accumulation sold for peanuts. There were no collector’s items, just the basic stuff – good quality, but nothing special. If it’s not on the front page of Ellusionist, Hocus Pocus, Penguin Magic etc. it’s old and basically worthless. Just watch people try to sell last week’s miracle on the Cafe or eBay e.g. Black Widow – a rude awakening for sure.

Anyway, when shopping for me, you might consider the following:

• A high end set of cups from Riser, RNT2, Sherwood or Owen. Stainless steel is my medal of choice, but I’m not picky.
• A set of Todd Lassen’s unexpanded shell sets in soft Morgans. For a stocking stuffer you might consider a Walking Liberty gravity flipper.
• A set of Owen Linking Rings – 10” preferably.
• Books – I love books. The new Cardini and Benson books would be great. I’ve never bought Steve Beam’s Semi-Automatic Card Trick series and they always sounded interesting.
• DVDs – Off hand I can’t think of any DVDs in 2007 that really made my must-have list. The closest was the Bill Malone set and I have them. I’ve never seen the Revelations series – believe or not, but never felt like forking over 200 bucks for the pleasure. I guess a complete set of L&L’s World’s Greatest… would be nice.

Next week – what i/m is getting for some of the well known people in magic. Don’t miss it.

Take care………

Quote: When W.’s history is written, he will be seen as the rebellious teenager crashing the family station wagon into his father’s three most cherished spots — diplomacy, intelligence and the Gulf.

I just posted one of my favorite video clips – David Roth on the David Letterman Show.

I like Letterman, but he has to be the worst possible sober audience. Roth’s magic, always impeccable, is even fun to watch despite Letterman.

 It’s a good lesson in grace under pressure. 

Take care……… 
 

There’s some good reading on some of the magic blogs right now. Of course there’s a load of crap too, but the balance isn’t quite as bad recently. Obviously, this reflects my likes and prejudices. Please take it as such.

B. D. Erland continues to write one of the most thoughtful and well constructed blogs in our strange little world. I particularly liked his article How to spend your 1st $100 in magic. This is kind of like the five foot shelf exercises, but with a very different slant. I really can’t argue with his choices, although I think I would have taken a different approach, but that’s what these articles are all about.

Andster, over at I, Magician can be a fun read. Posting has been more erratic lately, but he’s at that great age when the glands are still pumping wildly and has probably found girls a LOT more fun – at least I hope so. Like Tom Frank, he frequently puts more of himself in public than many of us are comfortable doing.

The Smiling Mule writes The Phantom Notebooks. It has become one of my favorite reads. Maybe, it’s because he’s as cranky as me. A recent article Deconstructing the Cafe was wonderful. He classifies the Cafe posters into 6 categories:

• The Morons
• The Pseudo Authority
• The Misled Nice Guy
• The Truthteller In The Shadows
• The Disenchanted Student
• The Advertiser

He actually gave names of posters in each category. It was great. Personally, I think there are missing categories such as the fawners – especially when a name shows up – I honestly thought Randy Wakeman was going to give Paul Kozak a virtual blow job when he was the monthly guest. There is the group that write vicious, nasty messages and then use a Bible cite in the signature – I give you his holiness, Stephen Youell – among others. And….. of course the industrial grade prick – Thomas Wayne come to mind. There’s much more scholarly stuff on his site – he takes his cards seriously – damn seriously. When the Mule speaks – I listen.

Jim Coles at Unexpected Wonders writes incredibly insightful and thorough essays. His recent post Performing Magic With Ease was excellent. Jim and I seem to share a lot of the same views on magic. He just expresses them better and with more class than I do! Jim has been going through a change of blogging software recently – less than fun I assure you.

The name guys seem to be MIA – Joshua Jay, Aaron Fisher, RIchard Osterlind….. Osterlind pops up once in a while hawking some of his stuff, but he hasn’t had a real post since George Bush had a thought. Joshua Jay is no more punctual with this blog than he is posting his tricks on the Magic Magazine site – last I saw he was approaching a year since updating.

Tom Frank continues to post regularly. He’s been a blog stalwart for a long time. In many respects, it’s like an autobiography being delivered page by page. As I alluded to earlier, he gives more of himself than many, including me, are willing to do. Always a fun read.

Take care………