Supernatural Podcast

I really enjoyed the Reply All episode you recommended in your March 8th post. Do you have any other podcast recommendations? —ST

Sure. I’ll drop a podcast recommendation in here from time to time.

First, let me say that I know there are a lot of good magic podcasts. I just don’t happen to listen to any of them. I’m sure I would if I wasn’t spending so much time immersed in magic already, but when I’m driving or walking or in some other podcast-listening scenario, I’m usually trying to take a break from the magic stuff.

A podcast I’ve been enjoying recently is Supernatural with Ashley Flowers.

Each episode takes a look at a different “supernatural” incident. It does a good job of riding the line of being creepy but not overly credulous in regards to the subject they’re covering. The most recent episode, The Eilean Mor Lighthouse Keepers, struck me as particularly eerie. It’s a story I had never heard before. It’s about these three lighthouse keepers who disappeared. At one point in the episode, they read the journal of one of the keepers in the days leading up to the disappearance and it was very subtly unsettling. (They do note that the journal may be a hoax, but the incident is real.)

The podcast just started in February. All the episodes have been good so far.

The Juxe: Micro-Genres - Good Songs Inspired by Scooby Doo

Ghost Projection Machine by Jon O’Brien

Meddling Kids by The Shake Ups

I Feel Like a Proud Papa!

I am legitimately shaking with how thrilled I am about this post.

Look, I’ve had this site for years. It’s led to me having the opportunity to interact with a lot of people I admire in magic. I’ve written a number of books that many consider to be landmark volumes in the history of this art form. I’ve had a lot of success in magic and a lot of things to be excited about. But they all pale in comparison to what I get to announce today.

The title of this post says that I feel like a proud father. But honestly, it’s something more than that. Any asshole can make a baby. I mean, think of your dad; he’s nothing special. But what I’ve done (with the help of a partner that I think will surprise you a little) is create something that is going to revolutionize magic. It goes beyond that even. This may seem too ambitious… but I think maybe I might have had a hand in creating something that is going to help heal our broken planet.

That’s right. Me and the boys at Ellusionist have put the Mnemonica card stack on a watch.

Ellusionist, the company that is best known for making wristbands and fidget dildos, reached out to me a couple of months ago and asked if there was maybe something we could collaborate on. I was psyched because—while I occasionally tease Ellusionist—I really thought we could work together and make something pretty cool.

So I sent them this video of my Mnemomica Stack Watch prototype that I’ve been working on for a few years.

And from there we were off to the races! It’s been a real whirlwind getting this product to market. The guys at E are totally great to work with. I want to thank them for being such amazing partners.

I figured there might be some questions about our new baby, so I’ve put together this FAQ.

FAQ

What the fuck?

Thanks! We’ve been getting that reaction a lot. People’s jaws drop (from surprise) and then they shake their head (because they’re astonished by how clever this thing is) and then they say, “That’s retarded” (street slang for “really great.”)

Isn’t that crib completely unreadable from more than 4 inches?

Precisely! Remember… if you can read a crib, so can your audience. At Ellusionist, we always question the status quo. Everyone: “Cards need to be white and nice and not badass.” BOOM - We give you the Black Tiger deck. Everyone: “ESP cards shouldn’t be see-thru.” BOOM - We give you the ESP cards in the How To Read Minds kit. Everyone: “No, no. We shouldn’t do ninja.” Boom -

So when someone in our meeting room said, “Of course the crib will have to be legible.” It was no surprise when Brad Christian turned his swivel-chair to face us, pulled his sunglasses down to the tip of his nose, stroked the baby ocelot in his lap, and said, “Yeah… but what if it wasn’t?”

That’s boldness. That’s creativity. That’s leadership. I still get chills thinking about it.

How am I supposed to justify looking at my watch so much?

Think about it… When you show people your card magic, what are they doing throughout the effect? That’s right! Looking at their watch! You’ll fit right in with all of your spectators.

How do I go about finding the right card on the watch bezel in order to know the stack number?

What?

The cards on the bezel. They’re in an order I don’t know. So if someone says the Jack of Clubs, I’m just supposed to stare at my watch, scanning my eyes around until I find it?

Oh, of course not. That’s would be ridiculous. We recommend you memorize the order of the cards on the watch so you can find them quickly.

Why would you rip-off the exact look of one of the most famous expensive watches in the world?

The whole purpose of a fake Rolex is to draw attention to itself. Wouldn’t you want to avoid that, lest they see the 104 letters and numbers around the bezel and the big “Stack” logo on the face (which, when googled, leads directly to the Ellusionist website)?

See, when you put it that way it sounds really poorly thought out. But I assure you, every design choice we made is absolutely no dumber than the idea of putting the stack on a watch in the first place.

I have a question about the ACAAN method mentioned in the ad:

HOW IT WORKS - EASY, NO MEMORY ACAAN

Twist & track every card in every position of the deck. If the spectator names position 16 and the 5 of clubs, you just twist the dial to that position. Now it shows that you need to cut the 8 of hearts to the face of the deck to ensure the ACAAN is bang on.  

So let me get this straight. You would have them name a card. Then you would search around your watch to find that particular card. And you’d have them name a number. Then you’d carefully twist the bezel around and adjust it to the point where the named card is on the minute that corresponds with the number. Then you’d look at the top of the watch to see a different card. Then you’d spread through the deck to find that card. Cut it to the face. And then, finally, you’d be in a position where you could count to their card at their chosen number?

It’s just that easy!

---

Okay guys, I have to run now. We’re getting together to work out some other products in the Stack watch family. We have an Aronson stack version on the way. And we also have another version coming out that will hopefully give you a better grasp on new deck order, for those of you confused by that. Exciting times ahead!

Salvage Yard: The Two Tenners

Okey-dokey, here’s where I kick into shape the trick I dumped on yesterday, The Two Tenners by Alexander Marsh.

My goals were these:

1. To justify the marking of your bill. (If you’re suggesting it’s just part of a wager, why are you marking it or making note of its serial number? It’s nonsensical.)

2. To give some purpose to the opening “wager” effect.

3. To tie that wager part into the serial divination presentationally (not just arbitrarily).

4. To remove the Easy Answer that you just peeked at the serial number at some point.

Here’s what it would look like, with notes in bold.

“Do you have a dollar on you? I’m going to show you a game I used to play in elementary school.”

As the spectator is grabbing their bill you are reaching into your pocket to get one of your own.

At this point, ideally you would be some distance from your spectator.

Ask them to hold the bill with the portrait facing them, and to fold it in half, then in half again, and again. You demonstrate the same thing with your own bill.

“I’m going to put an X on mine, so we can tell them apart.” You pull out your sharpie to make the X on your bill and then put it away.

“This is a game we would play with our lunch money. For the last half of fifth grade we would play almost every day. Here’s how it works.”

You walk over to the spectator and take their bill from them (and do what needs to be done at that point).

“You’re going to take the bills behind your back, mix them around and bring them out in your fists like this.” You demonstrate holding both fists out in front of you.

Don’t actually put your hands behind your back during any of this. That’s too sketchy.

“I have to try and guess which hand has my bill in it. If I get it right 2 out of 3 times, I win both bills. If I don’t, you win both bills. In fact, I’ll give you better odds. If I don’t get all three guess correct you can keep both bills. Deal? I’ll be honest with you. I played this game a lot and I never lost my money.”

Then you go ahead and play the game. There is no method here. You just play it for real.

Either you’ll get them all right, or you’ll miss one or more. If you get them all correct, that’s a pretty strong trick in itself.

If you miss one or two, still play all three rounds, “Just to see how it would go.”

If you get all three rounds correct: “That’s somewhat impressive, but that’s the sort of thing I was doing back in fifth grade. Now I’ve honed my senses of perception to a much more impossible…,” And you go into the serial number divination.

If you don’t get all three rounds correct: “Well… shit! But to be fair, I didn’t say I never lost the game. I said I never lost my money. And that’s because when i did lose the game, I would offer to show them a cool trick if they gave me back my dollar. Are you willing to make that deal? My dollar for a trick?” They will agree and hand you back your dollar.

Those who have the trick will understand the power of this moment and what it psychologically reinforces.

“I can’t believe I lost all three rounds,” you say to yourself. “Well… actually… I sort of can believe it. You see, I wrote something on this bill besides the X before we started playing.”

You unfold the bill and it says, “I will lose all three rounds.”

This is accomplished with three outs. Three bills in your pocket:

• “I will lose three rounds.”

• ”You will win two rounds, I’ll win one.”

• ”I will win two rounds, you will win one.”

After you play the game, you know which prediction to bring out and have finger palmed. When you take back your bill you will do a shuttle pass or any other type of switch, and then, after a few moments, reveal your prediction. I wouldn’t suspect there would be much heat on this switch (it’s your bill, after all). And showing this prediction written on the bill reinforces again the central lie that make the serial number divination work.

(You could have more bills in an index and give an exact prediction, i.e., “I will win the first round, lose the second, and win the third.” I don’t think it’s necessary because you’re really just setting them up for the final effect. I think it’s okay if this preliminary effect is just “okay.”)

“I’ll admit, that could have been luck. Are you willing to give me your dollar to see something truly impossible?”

The’ll likely agree (if not, offer to show it to them as an act of charity).

“Don’t give me your bill just yet. Keep it in your hand. When you were over there and you first took your bill out and folded it up, did you happen to notice the serial number?” They will say no. ““Okay, and the way the bill is folded it’s impossible for me to see the serial number now, correct?”

Here you are subtly but firmly making it clear that the serial number was hidden at the beginning of the effect. Before you were near them.

At this point you either divine the serial number directly, or ask them to look at it and “read their mind.”

Either way you have a routine that is pretty cohesive and builds nicely, and all the actions are pretty well justified.

It’s not really the sort of thing I do, so I probably won’t perform it myself, but I’ve run it by a few people who do things that are more in this style and they seem to really like it. So hopefully some of you will get something from it as well.

If I wanted to do a serial number divination here is what it would have to look like:

The spectator takes out any bill of any denomination from her wallet. With your head turned away she folds the bill up so the serial number is completely hidden away. You never touch the bill—nobody other than the spectator touches the bill—and yet you’re able to tell her what the serial number is.

That would seem impossible if it weren’t for the fact that I’ve seen my friend do that exact trick about half a dozen times. Unlike the routine described above, this version is designed for social, one-on-one performing and in those situations it’s a really strong effect. I’ll share it with you next month.

An Example of a Broken Trick

There’s a new serial number divination trick available on Penguin called The Two Tenners by Alexander Marsh. It’s got a method that’s interesting, although I don’t think the routine as a whole is great for a serial number divination. I think openly introducing a second bill into the proceedings hints at the method, or—at the very least—complicates what should be a simple effect. And there is an opening interaction which is meant to make the use of the bills meaningful in some way (they’re a wager), but that part is so perfunctory and unrelated to the main effect that it feels tacked on. And on top of that, one of the methods used requires you to do something completely unmotivated with your bill—and you can’t really get around it because it’s the heart of that method.

But the biggest sin of the routine (at least as it’s written up in Marsh’s earlier work, I haven’t seen this download) is that you handle the spectator’s bill long before you tell them what’s going to happen. That gives them one big Easy Answer when the time comes for you to “divine” the serial number. “Well… I guess he must have looked at it and memorized it.” That’s not the method used, but it’s easy for someone to assume it is.

Now, you might say, No, they won’t think I memorized it when I just held the bill for a few seconds and I wasn’t even really looking at it. Oh… yes they will. They have no idea how long you were holding it, they have no idea how much you were looking at it, because you never told them this would be important. In fact, in this routine, you go out of your way to suggest it’s not important—that the money is just a wager—so why would they give a shit how much you handle it or look at it? Only later, after you’ve gone on a bit of a detour, do you say, “Oh, and now I’ll tell you the serial number of your bill.”

It’s not a good structure, but it’s a very common one in magic/mentalism. I’ve talked about it before when I wrote about Broken Tricks. These are tricks where the method that is used prevents you from establishing the conditions that are needed for the trick to be seen as truly impossible.

This routine demands people rely on their memory to be impressed. “Did he look at the bill long enough to memorize the serial number? Hmmm… I don’t think he did. But… I don’t know, maybe? I guess I’m impressed. Sure, I’m impressed.” That’s not going to garner the reactions you would hope.

It would be like if you came back from the grocery store and found a pineapple in your grocery bag that you didn’t buy. You wouldn’t say, “Holy Christ! A pineapple magically appeared in my bag!” You would assume there was some sort of mix-up and the cashier accidentally put it in the bag. Sure, you don’t remember her putting a pineapple in the bag, but you weren’t looking for such a thing. However if I told you to watch very carefully when she was bagging your groceries, and to make sure the bags were empty to start with, and to pay close attention to everything that goes in the bag. Well, then if a pineapple shows up, you have something significantly more inexplicable.

You need to cut off Easy Answers. Sure, the notion that you could flash-memorize a serial number in a few seconds is perhaps a far-fetched method. But it’s much more reasonable than what you’re asking them to believe: that you are somehow intuiting the number with the power of your mind. So you need to eliminate that as a method.

Now, all that being said, the trick is just $10. And the “subconscious switch” used in the effect has some merit. And I believe I’ve come up with some structural and presentational touches that address all the weaknesses mentioned above. So you may still want to pick it up because in tomorrow’s post we will salvage The Two Tenners.

Déjà Vu

Yesterday’s post was supposed to be the final post for this month, with the new schedule being daily posts from the 1st-20th of each month.

But with all that’s going on I figured I’d continue to stop in daily through the end of this month. Just to say hello. Hello!

It’s a weird time to be alive. And I know a lot of you look to me as a friend. Your best friend. Your only friend. A leader. A guru. A god. These are the labels you give me… and yes, I suppose I’ve earned them. It wasn’t my intention to be the sole shining beacon of joy in your life, but these things happen.

If you want my honest opinion on this, I think the coronavirus will be devastating to the individuals who are directly affected (obviously). But societally, I just don’t buy the most dire predictions. In fact, I never buy the most dire predictions about anything. They’re never right.

That’s about the extent of my analysis on the situation.

I’ll continue to pop in daily for the rest of the month to share a quick note or some sexy selfies with you.

So You Want To Be A Famous Internet Magician

This video from Rick Lax currently has 218 million views on facebook. It got 175 million views in the first month alone.

If you asked Rick to speak candidly about this video, I’m sure he’d say, “I’m so proud of this incredible artistic achievement. Please embed a video screen on my tombstone so it may run on a loop there for all eternity.”

No, I’m sure he understands that this is profoundly stupid, but it cracked the code of how people want to engage with magic on the internet in the early part of 2020. In months this will change, if it hasn’t changed already. And Rick will have to evolve as well if he wants to keep up. Which I’m sure he will. That’s the game he’s playing. He’s trying out different things, chasing people’s interest and then riding that wave until it crashes. Then trying something else out.

Here’s an idea that sounds logical, but actually is wildly flawed: “I’m going to be the best magician and perform the finest magic so I can become a viral internet magician.”

Those things have little to do with each other.

Rick Lax can do better magic than dousing his groceries in energy drink. But no one wants to see him doing his rendition of Cups and Balls. That’s not the sort of thing that grabs people. And that’s because the internet is not the right venue for what we would typically think of as “good” magic in the traditional sense. (Yes, occasionally an amazing routine by an amazing performer will go viral, but that’s the exception rather than the rule. And often they go viral because people are very impressed by the skill, not necessarily very fooled by the magic.) If you do a trick that fools people very badly, it will be exposed in the comments within four minutes. So the internet doesn’t necessarily reward “fooling” magic. As of now, at least, you’re better off approaching the magic aspect indirectly. As one magician with a strong internet presence told me just recently:

Traditional magic videos get swiped by and skipped so we’ve had to shift to TRICKING people into watching magic so that the viewer is 3 minutes in before they realize, “Shit! I just watched a magic trick.” We’ve done this by hiding the magic within fake science, pranks, riddles, bets, tutorials and puzzles.

Here’s how things break-down:

If you want to do the most affecting magic, then perform amateur/social magic for just a few people at most.

If you want to build your own persona and your own legend and express yourself artistically, then perform professionally. Perhaps with a goal of your own theater show or television specials.

If you want to reach the most people, then perform for the internet and let their somewhat fickle interests guide the material you produce.

Rick Lax will get hundreds of millions of views on his videos, but he won’t have the mystique or aura about him that Blaine or Derren Brown do. People don’t want mystique and aura from their internet celebrities.

Similarly, I can take someone to see Penn and Teller, Derren Brown, or Copperfield and that person may really enjoy the show and find it incredibly entertaining. But I will take them home and have them more enchanted and enthralled with something I show them that I learned when I was fourteen. That’s just the nature of a one-on-one experience done well. But there’s no fame or money in that.

It’s all a series of trade-offs depending on what your ambitions are. You can possibly do it all, but you just can’t do it all at the same time. “I’m going to perform magic that is a pure artistic expression that also generates an intimate connection with everyone who watches and will garner me 100 million views on tik tok.” It ain’t happenin.