Greetings from all of us here at Hank Lee's Magic Factory. A wonderfully busy week at magic central. My sincere thanks to our band of hard-working elves for processing more orders than I can remember in one week. They are amazing in their boundless energy. And, even more thanks to you, our band of wonderful customers for, well, just being wonderful!
Lots of things exciting going on. For example, how would you like a sneak peak at an incredible new effect from Japan? All you have to do is click here or go to this URL to see the Quicktime movie.
(http://www.hanklee.net/quicktime_movies/ambeletious.mov).
We will have this cool new item in stock in about 4 weeks. Watch the Hotlist for the announcement! If you have trouble translating from the Japanese, give our good friend Mr. Nogawa a call and he will be happy to help you.
The Holiday Extra is at the printer right now. It will hit the mail in two weeks. If you are not on our snail mail list, please drop me an email with your name and address and I will happily add you.
I have not mentioned the Conclave for quite a long time. We are booking talent like there's no tomorrow. Joaquin Ayala, Norberto Jansenson, Scott & Muriel, Charlie Frye, Norbert Ferre, Rafael, Aaron Fisher, Lee Asher, Nick Einhorn and more. The dates are April 21-23, 2006. For more information, just click on the Conclave button at www.magicfact.com. It's never too early to register.
And, now the ever popular Hotlist, which is just bubbling over with great new stuff this week!
Nutty Neckerchief - Attention kidshow performers! Mike Bent strikes again! This time it's the Nutty Neckerchief. It's not exactly the Mis-Made Flag. And it's not exactly A Lesson In Magic. It is an incredibly entertaining routine that is perfect for Cub Scout shows, Blue and Gold Banquets or any place Cubbers are likely to be found.
Borrow a normal blue and yellow neckerchief from one of the Cubbers. Notice that it's a little soiled, and offer to clean it by magic! Stuff the neckerchief into your magic bag, say the magic words, and remove the kerchief. Holy Mackerel! It's now a mixed up mess. All the marking and insignias are printed in the wrong place. Must have been the wrong words!
Try it again. Stuff the kerchief back into the bag. This time use some little magic words. When you take the neckerchief out, it has shrunk down to a tiny little one. At least the markings are all back where they belong. This just won't do!
One more time. Say the magic words backwards. When you remove the neckerchief, it is now reverse-printed. The yellow parts are blue and the blue parts are yellow! Not at all what you had in mind!
Get the kids to help out this time! Stuff the neckerchief back in the bag. Ask the kids to shout out their most colorful magic words. They do, and when you take out the neckerchief, it is purple! Sheesh! Nothing is going right.
Beg the kids for one last chance. Put the purple neckerchief in the bag, say the most powerful magic words you know, and when you take out the kerchief it is fully restored, pressed and ironed and ready to hand back to the young volunteer.
This is a fabulous routine that you will put in your show right away! Comes with all the specially printed 100% silk neckerchiefs. Wait until you see the quality! Oh, and you also get Mike's hilarious routine on DVD! $99.95
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8031&cat=&page=1)
Skeleton Mental Energy Transmitter - Our good friend Karl Bravosky from Spain has created one of the finest magical timepieces ever. Crafted by one of the finest watchmakers in Spain, the Skeleton Mental Energy Transmitter is a double prediction routine with an amazing kicker climax.
Without saying a word, a spectator merely thinks of any time. Your watch, which has been in full view of the audience throughout the routine, displays the spectator’s thought of time. Just like that!
Variations of this effect are boundless. And remember, nothing is written at any time. And, the spectator never says or mentions the time at all! If this sounds impossible to you, imagine how your audience will feel!
Routines include:
* Impromptu: Spectator thinks of a time and says it aloud. Simply take the watch out of your pocket and it shows the very same time!
* Elaborated: There is no mention of the time at all. And, you can finish with a double prediction! Great for cabaret or stage.
* A card is actually printed inside of the watch case, and can be used in conjunction with "think of a card" effects!
Karl entered the Skeleton Mental Energy Transmitter in the recent Singapore Magic Convention, and won first place. He also won first place for invention at the International Convention in Portugal.
The Skeleton Mental Energy Transmitter is 100% mechanical and will tell time like a normal pocket watch. No electronics of any kind and it can be examined at any time! Resets in seconds, which makes it perfect for close-up workers. $450.00
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8029&cat=&page=1)
Double Feature - From Larry Becker and Lee Earle - An entirely new principle matched with a timeless concept!
Flip through The Century's 100 Classic Films to show that every page is different: each two-page spread lists details of a classic film and an image of its lobby poster. Your helpers slide bookmarks between pages to select three completely different films.
Opening the book to those pages, they secretly select a title, an actor, and an actress that they combine to make a unique fantasy flick. An envelope that's been in plain sight is opened and the contents shown and read aloud - just like at the Academy Awards!
It is a 100% accurate prediction of the random choices made! Can be repeated and the fantasy flick will be entirely different. As a kicker, your helper can freely select from among the thousands of production crew listed for all the films and you can reveal every detail of that name too!
Next, show a copy of On This Day. Ask a participant for his day and month of birth. When he reads aloud from that day's entry in On This Day, everyone hears the unique events that took place on that date.
Another helper and a new birth date obviously yield entirely different historical information. Then you ask a third person merely to think of his birthday. Instantly you voice your impressions, writing the key phrases or sketching your thoughts. He reads aloud the entry for that day of the year - totally verifying your notations!
As with the earlier sensation, Double Vision, these books are packed with photos, all different, and employ multiple methods to fool the wise guys. Plus, hidden cues are incorporated into the back cover graphics for trouble-free shows.
Printed instructions are included, hidden right in the back pages of each book! $169.50
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8030&cat=&page=1)
Mastermind DVD Series Volume 1 - Criss Angel's Quarter Through Can - Criss Angel built his career by having a visionary approach and groundbreaking material. Now for the first time ever, it’s available to you, in his exclusive Criss Angel Mastermind DVD Series. The explanation of the mind-blowing quarter through soda can as created by Wayne Houchin and performed by Criss Angel on his critically acclaimed A&E television series MINDFREAK.
This effect can be performed anywhere, anytime with no special props. That's right. No props. No gimmicks. No switches. No set ups of any kind are required!
Borrow a spectator’s signed coin. Ask for any can of soda or beer from anywhere. Then, watch their faces as their signed coin miraculously penetrates their sealed can. The coin is immediately heard and seen inside the can. As a matter of fact, the spectator, not the magician, can be the first person to try and remove the coin from the open can!
It’s completely clean! Delve inside Criss Angel Masterminds as Criss and Wayne demonstrate the play-by-play breakdown for you to perform the Quarter Through Soda Can.
Plus bonus material, including an interview with Criss, sharing his inner thoughts on magic, his career and TV series. $29.95
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8032&cat=&page=1)
Amazing Kreskin DVD - From the legendary Friar’s Club in New York City, The Amazing Kreskin shows you how to duplicate many of the astounding effects he has spent decades perfecting for his television and stage appearances. Learn how to make a table levitate, how to mysteriously prevent a grown man from getting out of a chair. Kreskin reveals the secret of finding a chosen person in a crowd and how to use a special pendulum (supplied with the DVD) as a lie detector and predictor of the future. This is the perfect DVD for anyone who has ever wondered: “how does he do it?” or anyone who wanted to be the hit of the party and astound their friends with new tricks designed to keep everyone amazed. In addition to learning seldom revealed secrets, see The Amazing Kreskin at his best as he shows why he has been called by some the world’s greatest mentalist. $19.95
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8033&cat=&page=1)
The Workers eBook- Michael Close's Workers series contains some of the most commercial, entertaining, and powerful magic ever published – a repertoire that spans almost 30 years of professional performing in real-world conditions. Michael has held nothing back. You’ll learn the how and the why behind every routine.
"This is a complete revitalization of the Workers books, including an improved and expanded layout, corrected text, larger illustrations, and extensive annotations that cover insights and innovations that have been discovered since the books were first published. This is the Workers series the way I wish it could have looked when I first brought them out." Michael Close
This new eBook contains updated comments, bonus material, and a new and improved layout and two bonus tricks. More than 650 pages! $80.00
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8034&cat=&page=1)
Little Gray Hare - From Ryan Pilling and Gerald Kirchner, a Multiplying Rabbits routine with a twist!
Bring attention to a hair hanging above your face (this would be a very hard one for me to do). As you pluck out the single hair, it instantly pops into view at your fingertips in the form of a small gray bunny rabbit. "Oh look! I have a little gray hare!"
Ryan has included a great Multiplying Rabbits routine where the bunnies divide (splitting hairs), multiply, and vanish(getting the gray out).
For those who want something a little more fun, perhaps not as miraculous, Little Gray Hare is the perfect magical gag to have with you at all times. It takes up less than a cubic inch of pocket space, and it's pillowy soft; so you can have one in every pocket of your wardrobe at all times.
A great little ice-breaker laughmaker.
Includes:
Illustrated instructions with multiplying bunny routine, gags, and ideas.
Approximately 25 sponge bunnies! $9.95
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8036&cat=&page=1)
Strong Magic - Back In Print! - Creative Showmanship for the Close-Up Magician - Take the tricks you already know and increase their power tenfold; turn them into devastating weapons of entertainment and use them to increase your personal prestige. This book is a classic destined to take its place on the shelf of every person interested in the art of magic, whether professional or amateur. Its pages are a gold-mine of secrets that will enhance every moment of your close-up performance. Do you want applause, gasps, praise? Do you want your performances to be talked about and remembered? Strong Magic tells you how. You already own countless books on card tricks. Here is a book on something far more important: audience manipulation. These are the real secrets of magic. Learn what it takes to create memorable, strong close-up magic. Published by Kaufman and Greenberg. Hardbound. $44.95
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=6431&cat=&page=1)
Séance - The re-printed complete collection of all twelve Seance quarterly magazines devoted to spirit magic.
This is an excerpt from the book’s introduction, written by Eugene Burger: Seance first appeared in 1988. As each new issue arrived, I was surprised at the amount of good material that was being contributed. Single effects, entire routines, plot ideas, old methodologies revisited (I loved the piece on the Nelson Enterprises' "Ghost Gun"), thoughts on theory and practice, and much more. The pages of Seance magazine are a gold mine filled with thought-provoking ideas for anyone interested in a magical engagement with ghosts and spirits.
Since 1991, barely a month has gone by without some magician asking about Seance magazine – and where copies might be found. They are extremely hard to find, and a complete file now sells for $200 and up! It was a great source of pleasure to me, therefore, when I learned that Richard Kaufman had acquired the rights to Seance magazine for republication. It is a wonderful journal filled with magical treasures and I am happy that it will again see the light of day. $75.00
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8026&cat=&page=1)
Antoninus Pius' Box - The legend tells that in the year 141 A.D. Antoninus Pius, The Roman Empire Emperor, had to go on a journey due to problems with the borders, while his beloved had to remain in the city. During this time, the Emperor communicated with his beloved in a very special and unique way. Both had decided that, at a certain time of the day, she would write a message in the sand and Antoninus would randomly set out some stones with different words engraved on them. He would turn the stones around and the message that appeared was the same as the one written by his beloved. The following day Antoninus would write in the sand, and his beloved would choose the stones. In that way, at the end of the long journey, they were able to feel closer than ever before.
After telling the legend, show six engraved wooden plaques, which you place face down on the table. Also display a beautiful box filled with sand. Explain that, in the way of Antoninus, you have drawn a picture in the sand inside the box, which is now hermetically sealed. Ask someone from the audience to hold the box in their hands and choose one of the six wooden pieces.
When the box is opened, the picture in the sand is the same as the one on the wooden piece. Explain that this is only one part of the experience. Now the participant will draw something in the sand and you will choose a plaque and once again the experiment will be successful. At that point you ask the audience: "Do you still believe the story is only a legend?"
You get: A wooden box.; A bag containing sand; Six wooden plaques with different pictures; A stick for writing on the sand and the full routine. $59.95
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8025&cat=&page=1)
Mis-Made Dollar Bill Book- John Lovick - With permission from James Lewis - Imagine borrowing a one-dollar-bill and with just a few simple folds transforming it into an impossible condition - a Mis-Made Dollar Bill, with the corners in the center and the center in the corners. The spectators may thoroughly examine the bill - frozen in this impossible state - as there is no glue, tape, or other adhesive. This strange Mis-Made Dollar Bill is genuine, 100% U.S. Currency. This is the original, genuine, and only authorized version of the Mis-Made Dollar Bill.
Includes:
* One expertly manufactured Mis-Made Dollar Bill made using the careful guidelines of James Lewis to ensure the highest quality product.
* Thorough instructions with 39 step-by-step illustrations.
* An easy and effective handling of the bill switch.
* Extra tips and ideas.
* A brief history of The Mis-Made Dollar Bill $12.50
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8027&cat=&page=1)
Mentalism, Inc. - Volume 2 - Chuck Hickok - Continues and expands upon the philosophy and perspectives presented in the highly acclaimed Mentalism, Incorporated.
The purpose of this book is to help the reader become a better, more entertaining mentalist. Volume Two combines proven suggestions for performing mentalism along with easy to learn routines.
Volume Two begins with the first serious examinations of forces for mentalism in fifty years along with six strategies for effectively using forces in a mentalism act.
Volume Two continues with fourteen essays on mentalism that were previously available to only the world's top mentalists. Each essay contains practical ideas and thought-provoking questions for the serious mentalist.
Volume Two concludes with detailed instructions for performing three strong audience-tested mentalism routines... revealing the secrets that make each routine so powerful and entertaining.
Like Mentalism Incorporated, this is a book you will want to read more than once. $45.00
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8028&cat=&page=1)
Lisa's Lock - Brand new from Ray & Lisa Piatt, the perfect utility item for one-on-one encounters: psychic fairs, table-hopping, bartending, café work, business meetings, luncheon dates, TV work, press interviews, wherever people gather.
Display a combination lock. Instead of numbers, it has “letters.” Very convenient, because once it has been set for a 3, 4 or 5 letter word or name, it’s easy to remember the combination.
Also on the table are 7 white vinyl cards – business card size (2-inches X 3.5-inches). Explain that the cards contain various female names, which you have written on them. They will not be shown, so as not to influence your spectators.
Remove the cards and deal them (name sides down so they can not be seen), requesting a spectator to freely select any one of the cards. Once done, place the selected card on top of the packet.
Now, explain that your spectator selected the name by impulse, not knowing before hand what the names were.
Ask the spectator to dial any female names on the lock (just to try a few by chance), but the lock does not open.
Hand the selected card to your spectator, being revealed for the first time.
The spectator dials this name on the secured lock, gives a tug and, sure enough the lock opens!
The names on the other cards may be applied to the lock. Of course, none of them will open the lock!
Lisa’s Lock comes with a set of special white vinyl cards and a wet erase pen for rewording the cards anytime you wish. No switches! No devices! No wallets! No card cases! No sleights! No boxes! The effect works automatically! Powerful magic that is sure to be a favorite.
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/customer/product.php?productid=8035&cat=&page=1)
And, that's it for this week. I can honestly say that I have never seen so many great new items in one week. And, they're all here waiting for you! Of course, for the next 6 days we'll pay the shipping!
I hope you will find some time to spend with us either in person at our delightfully magical shop at 112 South Street in Boston or online at our delightfully magical website at www.magicfact.com. Either way, we love the company.
Hank Lee
