Did you ever notice that

most "Any Card to Any Number" are NOT "Any Card"
almost all flowers look different from the stuff magicians produce
a slip cut force makes a noise that can be heard from across the room
magicians when seated stand up from time to time; Elmsley Count time
so called pro tips from professionals most often are basic socials skills
there are always the same people in any L&L video. (I'm talking about the magicians, not the audience)
Daryl uses very preaching patter when performing
Jeff McBride has gone way past his prime and belt size
Dai Vernon died 20 years ago
some young magicians understand more about magic than you

Do You Know How To Do The Color Changing Deck?

If not check out this nifty Howcast video tutorial.



Actually I think this brilliant. The video promises a great trick. It seems legit, as lines like "Most magic stores have these" make it feel well researched by Howcast. Then the execution is so bloody awful with no convincers, no setup, no payoff... that all you feel is utter disappointment. Suddenly you don't wanna know anymore magic secrets. We need more of these.

On treating animals!

Just because you eat them doesn't mean you can treat them like shit.

A rabbit in a small tube with hardly an room to breathe, monkeys in small hold outs, cats and dog being janked. Weasels fiercely pulled by their skin after they get dropped on the stage. A cat being tossed in the air. Utter fear on the monkeys faces. Disoriented dogs, doves in obviously too tight dove holders. The claws of the cat obviously being trimmed so they cannot inflict any damage. Kittens dropped in a box. Ducklings being squeezed flat so they can be produced from the base of a transparent box. A small poodle in a drawer box that really isn't any bigger on the table in the background the whole time. The constant loud noise of the music, the idiot audience who clap like retards and the freaking pistol that is used. It Stress for the animals. Some are shaking, most are disorientated. And don't forget the hideous live stuffed animal in the second video near the end. The lady for the audience drops the monkey in a suit. This is fail... I hope Jack Takeda is no longer around.

It made me lol and rofl

Quoting Mr. Brooks in his latest Spam for Everybody:

On my recent trip to Las Vegas I was able to spend some time with my buddy Criss Angel who asked me if I could pass on some information regarding just one of his exciting projects, and here it is!

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha........ Buddy...... hahahaha. That sounds so wrong. Reminds me of this I found a while ago. Always wanted to use this.

WMF Gurguren

Failing on national television is bad. But being mocked for that fail on national television is even worse. Case in point Brasilian magician Gurguren. He screwed up while performing an illusion.

And here I am to point out that I think that illusionists are the lowest kind of magicians out there. All the dancing, the music the spectacle. All trying to misdirect that most of them have little to no character, style or charisma. Also the lack of actual skill, visions of grandeur and a massive inferiority complex almost always makes up the common illusionst.

But lets first watch the act that won Gurguren 50.000 Brasilian reals. (That's a whole bunch of money) on a TV show in March last year. He is the first of four magic acts. And if you get a very distinct Hans Klok vibe, well, surprise it's a direct rip off.

Also, there is a midget dancing with a goat:

Oh boy, Brasil has such class acts. Please note that you can win 100.000 Reals in that show. Yes Gurguren had to share the price with the goat dancing dwarf. So Gurguren does the TV circuit and naturally fails at one point.

There is a show called "Custe o Que Custar", literally "whatever it takes" and they have a weekly "top 5" of the worst moments in national TV. In only Sao Paulo 300.000 people watch the show on average. The video of Gurguren failing went viral in just a few hours after it's release. So I guess you are hyped now to see this utter piece of trash. Well it's actually not that exciting, but it will give you a bit of a laugh. (starts a 6:35)



Now speaking of failing. On his website, Gurguren (Btw, that name is even weird for people living in Brasil) has a nice picture in his gallery tying last post and this nicely together.

So the Masked Magician gets a unique treatment

So the masked magician does a show in Fortaleza which is in Brazil. It's a magic revelation show. And what do people see. utter disappointment. The same kind of disappointment we magicians have when buying the latest magic trick. Naturally people complain and want their money back.

Have a look:


At 1:20 a woman says that the tricks are made for children. At 1:26 a child says that he liked the tricks. Cute.

Even the news report this: G1 says this (using google translate and some common sense.)

The magician's show Mister M U.S. ending squabble on Sunday (27), in Fortaleza. Spectators complained that the tricks were "weak", "made ​​for an audience of children," and said they walked out in the middle of the presentation. Some even ask the magician to take off the mask to prove it was him. A group demanded the money back and discussed this with the organizers at the box office. The tumult was videotaped by the student Isaac Pereira, who was watching the show with his father. The charge of the event said the presentation was correct.
The merchant Isaiah Pereira, 59, father of Isaac, left the theater one hour before closing and asked back the value of both the tickets. "The show was so bad that people got up in the middle to ask for money back. Totally weak. A deception. We expected the show we saw on television." he said, who paid $ 70 of entry and an additional $ 35 for his child.
Mingoni (owner of the theater) said that he was not present, but authorized the box office to give back the money to those who felt aggrieved. "We work with responsibility. The failure happened because I did not check. He presented a magic show that people thought would be the top notch. I also thought it would be. This show was the worst in the history of the theater," he said. In contact with the G1, the head of Sand Events, Reginald Achievement, ensured that the show presented in Fortaleza is the same spectacle presented elsewhere. He says it will do the compensation, but said it has sold the show properly. "The public said they did not like. We did not promise it, we promised the Mister M and he came," he said. "I think the public expects him to do a disappearing plane or a ship" he said. The G1 came in contact with the person responsible for the magician's shows in Brazil, but the phone was off. Achievement reported that people who purchased tickets for collective buying sites can be compensated by credit card. But the return by Sand events should take 30 days to 40 days, time needed for the company receiving the money held by the purchase card. The return will take place at the Teatro Via South.
According to Isaac, son of Isaiah, the public was disappointed because the show had not appeared with magical structure and simple, such as those made ​​for children. "We were disappointed. It was just magic with cards, with balloons, something for children. He had no structure." he complained. The teenager, who made the video at the moment of confusion, remembered that the show started 40 minutes late and many suspected that it was not Mister M. "People were suspecting that it was not him, it was a person wearing the mask. Hence the producer of the event asked Mister M, to take off the makeup and mask to show that he was himself," he says. Isaac said that the producer explained that he did not show the structure of which was improvised and it would be a simple show.
Isaac said that the translator was improvised. "It was someone from the audience," he said. There were two shows, one at 6pm and one at 8pm. "And I knew that the 6pm show, had a translator, but he was not good. Then someone from the audience did the translation,"

So we got another fail of Mr. Val Valentino. You can't even reveal magic anymore. Pathetic.

You got Sankeytized

Straight from Jay Sankey's website


A NOTE TO EXPERIENCED MAGICIANS If you think you already know the secrets behind all these amazing effects, keep in mind that Jay's been teaching people the secrets to performing REAL MAGIC for over 30 years. So no matter how experienced a magician you may be, you are still going to learn something special from these free videos! 

Yes and remember: even an experienced magician who teaches magic for thirty years can still do the Twirl Change wrong!

Yeah! So refreshing!

Wanna have a down to earth experience. Try a trash festival. With carnival rides, can knock downs, cotton candy and all of that glory where soon to be daddies drink a lot.

If you're hired, you don't care about having a perfect pitch. Just do some magic for the kids, the parents, the drunk and even the pubescent teenagers who dress way too slutty. It really dumbs down your magic. Down to the basic level of communication. And what fun it is. No perfectly arranged patter. No subtle foreshadowing and very little words, because it's too fucking loud.

You repertoire gets through an instant casting. Losers go, winners stay. No more complex card routine. Triumph is reduced to the actual effect of the cards "rightening themselves" without bothering to have a selection. Show a card, then change it... then have a card picked, signed and immediately produce it from the impossible location. Attentions spans are a rare thing. Then move on to the coins quickly. Make them vanish and reappear and then go into the cups and balls. Did I say cups and balls? I meant: One Cup Routine. Yeah... ball gone, ball back, ball gone, ball back, ball gone, final load, final load, final load... that's what people want.

Wish them a happy fucking day and that they should party hard.