Gardyloo #66
/As many of you know, the Global League of Magicians and Mentalists is the largest magic society on the planet because everyone with an interest in magic is automatically a member unless they are a sexual predator or a shit-head.
People who have signed up for "Elite" level membership also get the GLOMM t-shirt (and a pin, membership card, and some bonus PDFs).
"But what about ME, Andy? I am a sexual predator or asshole. Where's my shirt?"
Look, I don't really cater to that audience. But if that's you, I think you can't go wrong with the Chris Ramsay "Ram Fam" t-shirt.
The Chris Ramsay "Ram Fam" t-shirt: The shirt that says, "I watch videos online."
Is your Rick Lax cardigan dirty? Reach for a Ram Fam shirt. The shirt that never goes out of style. (It avoids that fate by never having been in style.)
Buy this shirt and experience the swell of pride when your family believes you're finally accepting your sexual identity because they misinterpret "Ram Fam" as some sort of gay slang ("If we get enough guys together tonight, we're going to have us a good old-fashioned 'Ram Fam' session"). Only to have that joy and acceptance turn to scorn and disdain when they realize it's a reference to a youtube magician.
So yes, you can consider the Ram Fam t-shirt the official shirt for those who have been kicked out of The GLOMM. It only makes sense. Let's be honest, if you saw someone wearing that shirt you'd say, "This guy is a sex-criminal or an asshole. Probably both."
In issue #6 of the JAMM I put one of the strongest tricks in magic history (go ahead, debate me on that). It's a trick called Faith. In that trick you are outside with your spectator, she ties her ring to a string dangling from a helium balloon, and, with some cajoling, she lets it go into the air where you both watch it disappear into the night sky. (You can read a more detailed description of the presentation here.)
Recently, Kevin Bl(I'm putting this parenthetical reference in his last name so no one stumbles on this site with a goodle search)ake did a version of that trick on America's Got Talent. It's always cool when I get to see an idea of mine done by someone else on stage or tv. Here's Kevin doing his version.
Kevin's version is definitely more practical for his circumstance, but the method in the JAMM takes advantage of the opportunities we have in amateur performance situations to allow for an effect that is probably more visceral. (The spectator ties their ring to the string, they let it go, they see their ring go up into the air and watch the balloon until it's too small to see anymore.)
If you look at Faith and think the set-up is impractical, I can only say that I've done it a number of times myself and have helped other people do it as well. It may seem impractical but that's because you're used to reading magic methods that can be done tablehopping. In reality, it only takes 10-15 minutes to set up and it's just as powerful to make the ring re-appear a week later as it is if you make it reappear immediately. And the moment of decision—where the spectator decides to let their ring go—is insanely intense and unlike anything they've experienced seeing a trick before.
I've always been a big fan of Andy Nyman's material and his performance style. I think because he was so instrumental in Derren Brown's early work, and because people ripped off that style so freely, it doesn't seem as special now as it should. But it's still special to me, goddammit! I'm not going to let you unoriginal goons poison Nyman's (and Brown's) work for me because you flooded the world with fifth-generation copies of it!
Anywho... a couple minutes ago I got done watching Andy's newly released (in the U.S, at least) movie, Ghost Stories. I thought it was spooky as shit. If you're into horror movies at all, I would check it out.
Aren't you going to tell us what it's about?
Uh... I said it was a "horror movie" and that it was "spooky as shit." Consider that my movie review. I like to know as little about movies as possible before I go in, so I'm sure not going to blabber on about the details to you.
It's available now on demand. It gets the Jerx "It's Good" Stamp of Approval
Remember when I asked people to explain this cartoon by "comic genius" James Thurber?
Well, I wanted to thank the people who wrote in to explain it to me... but you all had different explanations. So I conclude that there is no joke here and this is, in fact, not funny.
James Thurber, I hate your guts. Rot in hell.