Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Allll Right!
I'm wicked excited about these methods.
What Eric is teaching me in his DVD "Metal" are;
  • JW Grip along with the Mike Gallows Production
  • Kris Korn's Production
  • Motobe Palm Production
  • The Pop
 Well the JW grip is in his video "Mirage et trois" available from Vanishing Inc.
I LOVE it. Your hands feel so cool and sort of elegant.
However you can look like they went through a blender if you don't hold them with
confidence.





Now, Eric really starting to combine the previous lessons into more practical illusions.
I've been looking for a way to vanish a coin for the "Cupertino?" effect where a coin
penetrates a beer glass and lands in a shot glass. I needed a sweet way to vanish the coin.
So far the JW grip looks great. Then when I false take a second coin from a rack, i can use the JW Grip production(s).


WOW The Pop is going to be tough. I'd like minimum hand movement on this and not have the coin
look like it was tossed. I'll go over Eric's explanation again a few times this week to get it right.

On with Practicing.



Monday, April 23, 2012

Oh Kay!

Just completed my week 3 of training.
My biggest issue was the finger palm.
I'm going to have to keep practicing that a LOT!
Puffy pads is the killer so the coin is not secure.

The edge grip was simply not a problem. And I found
it more practical keeping my thumb touching my middle
finger. My index was free to point and using the other fingers
as a cover I easily picked up objects. I also was able to use
a coin I picked up as a cover. Displaying the coin full on, (the
head or tail side showing) the hidden coin is behind the coin
I displayed.

The Goshman pinch is difficult for sure. I found my left
pinkie is not as 'good' as keeping the coin pinched as my right
pinkie. My left pinkie has a slight bow outward while my right
pinkie is bowed slightly inward. This, ever so slight, bow makes the
work on the left hand more difficult. My right hand is fine.
So I keep my left hand near my lap and my right hand
on the wheel and practice. In a golf cart of course never a car on
the highway. no sir.

With the Motobe Palm, Eric says to keep the coin parallel to the
ground. He also mentions the site line of the audience member.
THAT is extremely important. That site line makes or breaks this illusion.

I've been trying out the finger palm and got caught a couple
of times because I'm just too darn relaxed. My fingers were not
'tight' enough and the shine of the coin peaked through.
Ugh!

We are getting ready for a show on Friday so I won't start
week 4 until tomorrow evening.

Meanwhile....oops dropped a coin...meanwhile.ugh! hard to type
with a coin palmed. AH Again I dropped it. ok need super glue.
Meanwhile, i'll keep at it and vid my week 2 progress.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

As you might have seen in my Video on YouTube, I am in week three. The next four coin manipulations are;
  • Motobe Palm
  • Curl Palm
  • David Roth's Edge Grip
  • Al Goshman/Tenkai Pinch
This is a tough week to practice because of a Show this week and another next week.
But there is no excuse. If you have time to watch TV, there is better time spent hanging out
with your coins which is what I'm doing.

I really like using the Curl Palm and Edge Grip together. Although the Curl Palm (if I am correct)
requires the coin to be deeper into the crutch of the fingers, I can switch between the two giving a
very nice illusion that my fingers are 'freer' than they really are.

The real trouble I'm facing with the Curl Palm is that my finger's fleshing part keeps sliding the coin
up or down. HEY I am NOT Fat! Actually I'm not as you see from my vids. But the slippage is still a problem
I'm working on.

The Motobe palm is very fun. I do see where pushing coin in 'deep' really helps with the fingers being loose.
I really like this grip because you can display the hand very open. Eric shows you how to 'sweep' the table freely. I'm finding that I can really make casual hand gestures and have a LOT of angles where the coin is simply not visible. In this pic the hand is very open, a bit relaxed and the coin nicely concealed.



Oh! By the way, here is the promo for Metal.
Please go there and give a "Like" to it.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Hi Guys,
I just saw Joshua Jay perform Threesome. (Vanishing Inc magic)
I see, for this illusion, he has setup a small table with what appears to be 20 to 30 people attending.
I attended Steve Cohen's show in New York and learned some valuable lessons there as well as
being completely entertained.

As I continue studying Magic, I'm discovering more and more ways an Entertainer can create a  wonderful
experience brought on by the Parlor Show. I have such books from David Stone and "Maximum Entertainment" that I have read a few times each at least.

What I'm doing is creating a parlor show for home and rented rooms.
I'd expect 20 to 40 people.
I see the setup and presentation that Joshua, Bancheck, Green and others have used in this venue and
I'd be interested if anyone has some recommendation on books and/or videos on strictly (or mostly)
targeted toward the Parlor presentations.

In my mind's eye I see many different ways to put on the show.
As I practice my coins (cards and others are coming) and build my parlor character I'd like some choices that others have experimented with that work for them and how they have orchestrate their show.

Any ideas are appreciate.
Thanks for reading now back to practicing my Barkley Productions :)

Thursday, April 12, 2012

The multiple coins are as hard as I suspected.
I'm discovering that one day I totally can drop 4 palmed coins easily.
The next day they are dropping like a rain storm pelting my practice mat.
Practice ... you know the rest.

The Thumb palm was easy and I've practiced it before. But now I'm seeing how to get
into it and out of it.
Down's Palm is just wicked cool. The tough part is to vanish the coin and make your middle
finger (and sometimes with the index finger) look natural with the hold out. I've discovered that if I
use my index finger to 'point' into the air where the coin vanished, then bring my hand back a
pace and 'ignore' it while staring at the vanish spot, the illusion works better.
WOW I love Barkley's production and it is tough. Mostly because the production is more natural
on the right or left side of my body and not in the center. I have a BIGGER mirror now so I
can view the production better.
In my YouTube http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL31C824BC6BFDEBA8 I mention that
a circular motion of production is better than having my hand still or moving it back and forth.
Highly HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend: http://www.sleightsofmind.com/
It's on Nook and Kindle which is nice.

Monday, April 09, 2012

Two things came up about palming.
1. Patrick, my BF, was writing to me about palming and said that my 'cone hands' were getting more natural. He hit the terminology right on the head. When palming a coin avoid "Cone Hands"!
2. I was doing what Eric Jones said to do. While typing and driving and etc. keep a coin palmed.
Well first of all, this is also helping me shift coins more naturally from palm type to palm type.
Such as, I can't (yet) 'palm' palm a coin while typing but can thumb palm a coin.
Second, when you are palming a coin, watch out for tossing a handful of peanuts into you mouth.
I almost chipped a tooth as the coin joined the peanuts in a race to my throat. ow...

Sunday, April 08, 2012

View my vid. I've seen a perfect application using http://www.sleightsofmind.com/ 's circular motion thoughts in the Buckely Production.
And I have a surprise coming soon on my videos. One that is sure to make you think: Hey that's kind of cool.
or "Wow is she ever lame"
I like it actually. :D
Thanks to Levent although he probably would not think his billard's ball would apply to coins in this obscure way. ;D
OK i had moderate success last week with the finger palm, the ramsay subtlety, Kaps/Malini subtlety but not as well on the classic palm. My hand kept bending at bizarre and unnatural angles.
Ugh.
So this week I'll continue to wok on the classic palm.
In addition, I will have the pleasure of ;
Multiple coin holdouts.  I should be able to hold out 4 coins and produce them with no indication a coin is present.
From here I will also have the Thumb palm, downs palm (on of my favorites) and two productions from the thumb palm to the two Arthur Buckley productions.
OK time to practice and watch for the video on the beginning of these.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL31C824BC6BFDEBA8

Thursday, April 05, 2012

taught the kids about their upcoming show today.
not much else but Muchael really liked the split concept.
Also used finger palm to reveal a coin on a sheet of paper. i picked it up
and showed a man bith sides. when i put the paper down, i ade it appear as if the coin came from the paper.
thinking on this later, i believe i can do a tear up paper routine and reveal money betweem the torn up pieces.
good night ;)

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Some of the things i have found from just a bit of practice.
First, although looking relaxed may feel cool. it is not.
I find that a professional posture is best.

While practicing the finger palm, it simply goes well with Ramsay subtlety.

With a coin in finger palm, i pick up another coin and can actually straighten all my fingers.
This is probably what other magicians don't tell us. Yo can use your thumb to capture and hold the hidden coin. Try it. Finger palm a 1/2 dollar. Pick up another coin with the same hand.
Now if you simply apply a moderate amount of pressure with your thumb that is holding the
exposed coin, your other fingers are now free. You have shifted the pinch of the coin from the finger's digits to the thumb.


And finally, when I'm driving, a golf cart of course, i can use the steering wheel to secure the hidden coin. Well you can now apply this to any object your hand interacts with. A cup, bottle, men feeling their beard stubble, almost anything.
Shift the pressure from the points from the fingers to the fingers AND another object.

The other thing i am discovering is "ISOLATION".
No music (yet) no vids no dancing bears.
Just get into the magic.

I've discovered a cool way to take shw your left hand completely empty.
Pick up a coin with your right.
Put it into your left hand.
Take that coin and SPLIT it into two.

I'll show you on my weekly vid

Bye Bye

http://youtu.be/ivJXtufZc6Y
http://youtu.be/L6ZqRNaXoa4

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0Got55ROJk
The start of Week 1.
Lessons i've learned is that YES KEEP COINS WITH YOU AS MUCH A POSSIBLE.
It's so cool driving (a golf cart hee hee) and then eeling how the coin needs to switch from position to position in order to not only hold the coin but also keep in hidden.

And Patrick pointed out that the fingers not only need to be flexible and relaxed but also not in a straight line. Keep the fingers separate and spaced in a more 'irregular' pattern.
I'm reading Synchronicity by Dr Surprise and we are pattern matching creatures. So keeping the pattern mixed varied is very important.

Another good book is

Whoa wicked good.
Meanwhile back to practice.
See ya about Sunday

Stephanie's Magical Worldly View: Oh...my...GOSH!Eric Jones is amazing and his vide...

Stephanie's Magical Worldly View: Oh...my...GOSH! Eric Jones is amazing and his vide...: Oh...my...GOSH! Eric Jones is amazing and his video shows it. Well I do have my work set out for me. Here is what I need to master. Con...
Oh...my...GOSH!
Eric Jones is amazing and his video shows it.
Well I do have my work set out for me.
Here is what I need to master.
  • Concealments
  • Finger palm (1)
  • Ramsay Subtlety (1)
  • Classic Palm (1)
  • Kaps/malini Subtlety (1)
  • holding out with multiples (1)
  • thumb palm (1)
  • downs palm (1)
  • buckly production (1)
  • mutobe palm (1)
  • curl palm (1)
  • edge grip (1)
  • goshman / tenkai pinch (2)
  • jw grip (love this one!) (1)
  • gallo production (1)
  • mutobe production (2)
  • the pop (1)
  • french pop (1)
  • Vanishes
  • Taking (1)
  • quick vanish (1)
  • putting (1)
  • elusive vanish (1)
  • retention vanish (1)
  • stylized retention pass (1)
  •   Flourishes
  • coin roll down (steeple chase) (4)
  • Five coin star(4)
  • arm roll...arm roll?!(4)
  • Utilities
  •  Click pass (1)
  • jones pass (1)
  • roth shutle pass (1)
  • utility switch (1)
  • wiped clean (1)
  • townshend hand washing (1)
  • bobo switch (1)
  • jones switch (1)
  • benzais friction palm (2)
  • han ping chien (2)
  • Sleeving ( don't do sleeving in performance but gotta learn it
  •  dr e.m. roberts sleeving (2)
  • parallel sleeve vanish (2)
  • sleeve retrieval (2)
  • Review weak sleeving (2)
  • Routines
  •  4 coins across (4)
  • using a jumbo coin (fun!) (4)
  • simplex 3 fly (4)
  • loose change (4)
  • bluff vanish (4)
  • jones spell bound (4)
WOW then he has some tips on "getting caught", "windows" and "closing thoughts"
Whew. you know, you but  dvd and expect to immediately KNOW the information the and be perfect.
But I don't. I'm 57 and want to be good. I didn't have those early years with friends practicing with me or simply having the 'free time' to practice.
So that's the challenge at this point: Master Eric Jones' Metal 1.

Time line. A time line is good.
I'll keep to the hour practice per little piece.
What I did was to put a number of practice sessions next to each each.
But that is just a guess. And it does give me a time line in a sense.
I'll do that now but you'll have already seen the results.

Done. 71 initial practice sessions. I know a lot of these but that doesn't mean i can skip them. Nope! I'll take each one again.
My plan is 4 days a week for each session.
One day to review the material for that week and previous week.
I guess I need to recall the names of the slights too. I have a poor memory but I'll give it a try.
This means 14 weeks to master this dvd.
Week one starts today. Week goes from Mon to Sun. AHHH I'm already a day late!
The flourishes i added one more practice session meaning I'd use the whole week on that. Say with routines so the total weeks has increases to 81...81?
Well that's 20 weeks. I probably counted incorrectly.
Start now - Complete Aug 3rd. One week before Pat and my vacation.
Sounds like a plan. I'll be posting to Youtube at the beginning and end of each week.
THAT's the plan.

Monday, April 02, 2012

My beloved Patrick said that, like a good musician, i should take one small piece and practice it until it is perfect. And no more than an hour for each practice session.Build on the routines a little at a time.After an hour go play with the magic.
Each practice session should have a review of the previous lesson and then move on to the next provided the previous session is mastered. Once a week, i should have my hour teacher lesson which will be reviewing the video parts i am working in.
Gawd i love this life and country!

That is what i am going to do with Eric Jones'Metal.
once i master that i will decide which part of the art is next.
I am going to list all the routines, video without practice, practice and when i feel good about the piece, re-film.
This will be a sort of blog and youtube experience for me.
I love coin magic and there are so many little nuances to it.
I hope to share these with anyone reading.
OK Create a new post....new post....
This blogger is not very intuitive and I'm a QA geek.
Sheesh.
Well this blog is for those of us that are 50 and over and wanting to break into Magic.
My my My what a chore this can be. Frustrating and non-rewarding.
The reason is that we work 50 hours a week (plus commute in some cases) then are home to practice magic. It's tough.
You just a want to sit down and and watch tv. And that is why the first thing I have setup now
is my airplay. On my iPad I've setup the routines I want to practice.
I'm currently working on Eric Jones Metal 1. THis is like a Bobo (BeauBeau) crash course.
The DVD is about 120 minutes. Worth EVERY penny too.
And I need to watch it a few times and take notes.
My plan is to demonstrate how things are going on my YouTube.
WOW talk about brutal. I posted some vids for the kid's at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Nashua where I teach and I got totally ripped apart by some folks.

When it comes to 10 year olds and only 6 weeks and they won't practice at home, you have do make things simple.

Well regardless. My goal is to go through the Metal DVD by this week's end (Sun for me).
Then demonstrate what I've learned - practice - and show improvement.

Oh did I mention I've got a B&G kid's show on the 19th and a show to perform at the Wetherbee school on the 24th and a full time job? Yeah I said that already.
OK watch for a link to the post shortly.
Time to watch the vid and practice.
I'll also add some ideas on how to become a magician full time as I go along.
That is my ultimate goal and I have only 5 years to do it in.

I can't afford a bunny right now...


OK this is confusing. Life was simple way back when.
You just logged into the Blogger, wrote and published.
Now it's hooked with Google+ and hard to find.
Oh well, here goes