Greetings from all of us here at Hank Lee’s Magic Factory. Another beautiful week here in New England. Last weekend the family toddled off to the peaceful island of Martha’s Vineyard. For a weekend of rest and relaxation. I had plenty of time to relax between raking the leaves, cleaning a winter’s worth of detris from the bottom of our little pond, fixing a dripping plumbing fixture that was creating puddles on the basement floor, fixing the water heater, setting up the Mosquito Magnet, installing a new deck planter for Bonnie’s new summer herb garden, buying new plants for the water garden (only the most hardy of water plants make it through the winter in New England) and finally picking up some fish for the pond. Bonnie wanted to immediately name the fish. Not a good idea, I told her. When we left on Sunday, everything looked pretty ship-shape. Which means that when the really warm weather arrives, I just might be able to sit in the hammock and read a book.
Who’s Bill Toob, anyway? We were very excited when Harry Lorayne sent us a note to let us know that his new Best Of Friends III would be available to us, for our customers. The list of contributors to the book reads like a Who’s Who In Magic. As I was noodling around the Internet, I found that a couple of sites listed Bill Toob as one of the contributors to the book. Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Bill Toob a fictional character who only appeared in that wonderful send-up of Genii Magazine, Wenii Magazine? To my knowledge he has never created any actual effects; in fact, it would be impossible because he doesn’t exist. So when you look at the list of contributors to Harry’s great new book on other sites and see Bill Toob listed, you can scratch your head just like I did. For the real low-down on this Bill Toob story, drop me an email to magicfact@aol.com. I love to tell the story!
And now, my friends, here is this week’s excitement!
FREE SHIPPING: Until Thursday the 14th of June at midnight, we are offering free ground shipping to anywhere in the US, including Alaska and Hawaii! Just enter the special code SHIPMEFREE in the Discount Coupon Box at the bottom of the first page of the online checkout at www.magicfact.com. We will happily pick up the ground shipping charges on your order. Of course, if you want your order sent Fedex Three Day (Express Saver), Second Day or Next Day, you will just have to pay the difference. Note: Your email confirmation from our online system will still list the shipping as free, but we will charge the difference when we ship your order. Overseas customers will save as well! We will pay one-half of the Air Post shipping charges on your orders until the 14th! Just remember to enter the special code SHIPMEFREE in the Discount Coupon Box, or let the person taking your phone order know when you place your order at 800 874 7400.
Now, let’s take a look at this week’s Hotlist.
Stand Up Coin Magic DVD – NathanKranzo: A new DVD featuring coin effects designed to be performed for larger groups and better visibility.
In this new DVD Kranzo gets away from the tired old coin effect performed at waist level. Hold your coins high and come along for a great ride. All the routines are performed standing. All the routines are wildly visual.
Wish Paper
A flashy (no pun intended) way to produce your coins. The last coin will surprise them every time. Nathan also teaches his versatile Index Finger Shuttle Pass.
Cashing In
Cash in your Casino Chips for real money instantly! Features a barehand production that will fool them all.
Will The Kort Please Rise
A stand up version of Milt Kort’s classic coins through table routine. Kranzo adds an extra element that looks like real magic.
Flesh-N-Bone
When a table is not around push the coins through flesh and bone! We predict this coin through hand routine will be the most talked about coin effect of the DVD!
Guess Which Hand
Something everyone can relate to. What a clever and magical way to draw someone into your performance.
Crackers
You’ll have to see this to believe it. Coins turn into snacks! You will never perform on an empty stomach again!
The Tail
Heads or tails? A question that appeals to everyone. This hilarious effect always gets a roar of laughter.
Four of these routines use nothing more than a regular expanded shell. Three routines use no gimmicks at all!
“I have two words for this DVD…GET IT!” Mike Gallo
$34.95 (DVD00712)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8866&cat=0&page=1)
New York Coin Magic Seminar DVD Vol. 2: Following the resounding success of their first project, a two-volume DVD set on Coins Across, the New York coin guys have tackled another huge topic with a three-volume DVD set on Copper-Silver!
Each volume contains 2 hours of coin magic, covering all of the main topics of Copper Silver routines. Not only will you find tricks and routines using pure sleight of hand or with standard gaffs, but there is a heavy focus on techniques, moves (including unpublished ones), and bonus in-depth discussions from the famous New York Coin Magic Seminars.
Volume 2:
This volume concentrates on Wild Coin and Two Copper One Silver. Dr. Michael Rubinstein presents his Twilight-Zone Wild Coin and the Merlini Purse Routine. David Roth teaches three versions of Wild Coin, including a new, unpublished version, held back for years! Mike Gallo has three versions of Wild Coin, including one that is performed in the spectator’s hands! All are different and very practical.
In the Two Copper One Silver section, Geoff Latta presents his Cop Sil Brass. Rubinstein presents a triple change effect called Copper Sandwich. Roth presents an impossible triple change using an Okito box and Gallo gives his own take on the Two Copper One Silver plot.
The Bonus section is packed full with material from the seminars. Here you will find a presentation of Wild Pocket from special guest Kainoa Harbottle, a unique use of a gaff by Geoff Latta in Copper Silver Coins Across, and some special insight into the Wild Plot from Mike Gallo.
On each DVD is a hidden "Easter Egg" - an unadvertised effect that can only be found by clicking your remote at the right time - look for an arrow on one of the menus, and you won't be disappointed! $34.95 (DVD00714)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8868&cat=0&page=1)
Street Magic Magazine – June/July:
In This Issue:
Challenge
Inkblot Competition
Pickpocketing by James Harrison
Publicity & the Internet by Justin Robert Young
Going XCM on ya by De'vo vom Schattenreich
Just for the Funovitz
Does God Hate Magic? by Troy D. Cherry
SM Survival Guide: Cricothyroidotomy
Six Degrees of Sal Piacente
Thinking for a Change by James L. Clark
Do I Believe in Magic by Grandpa Chet
Peter Eggink Interview
A Trip To Ulmen
The Rant by Bizzaro
Pro Audio by Dan McLean
Bus-King
A Magical Perspective: Jason Teeman
Blaine vs. Angel
Magic Friday by Jamie D. Grant
Now That's Magic
Jinx Revisited: Dead Man's Hand
Secrets
Reviews
Fantasma: The New Wave in Magic
Reed On by Jamie D. Grant
12 Steps of Nail Care
The Ultimate Betrayal & The Dreaded 793.8
20 Questions for the Inventor of 20Q by Jamie D. Grant
$8.95 (SM002)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8871&cat=0&page=1)
Master Deck – Marc Oberon: Have the ability to locate any named card instantly and with no memory work!
This new system from the mind of Marc Oberon takes all of the time and effort out of learning to use a memorized stack. You'll really be using it in no time at all.
In this package you will receive one specially prepared Master Deck and an instructional DVD teaching the mechanics of the deck and six fantastic routines utilizing the system. $59.95 (30.1242)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8872&cat=0&page=1)
Forgery – Glenn West: This brand new effect comes from Glenn West and boasts a total of three great effects:
• A spectator picks a card (no force). It is returned to the deck, and the you find a card that is not the spectator's. Ask the spectator to sign the card and their handwriting will help find the originally chosen card. Flick the the card 3 times and it has transformed into the selected card with the spectator’s signature on it!
• A card passes between two others and magically turns over - like Card Warp - but much stronger!
• A card is selected and placed on the table. An alternative card is signed. The signature magically jumps to the tabled card!
Comes complete with performance and explanation DVD! $29.95 (30.1243)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8874&cat=0&page=1)
Ultimate Card Sessions – Four DVD Set: Image if you could be present for the most amazing super session of card magic ever held? Here is the greatest collection of card magic ever assembled onto one DVD series.
Volume One contains 36 routines from 24 of the top performers in the world! Watch as magical superstars Larry Jennings, Lennart Green, Tommy Wonder, Allan Ackerman, Michael Maxwell, Paul Harris , Gary Kurtz, Chuck Fayne, Rich Marotta, Joshua Jay, Kenton Knepper, Christopher Caldwell, Darwin Ortiz, Michael Skinner, Paul Gertner, Martin A. Nash, Michael Close, Guy Hollingworth, Daryl, Jack Carpenter, Aldo Colombini, Steve Bedwell, Guy Bavli, Rich Smith sit down and share all of the details of their pet card routines.
Volume Two contains 34 routines from 22 of the top performers in the world! Larry Jennings, Lennart Green, Tommy Wonder, Allan Ackerman, Michael Maxwell, Paul Harris, John Bannon , Chuck Fayne, Rich Marotta, Johnny Thompson, Lee Earle, Darwin Ortiz, Larry Becker, Paul Gertner, Martin A. Nash, Michael Close, Guy Hollingworth, Bill Kalush , Paul Green, Paul Wilson, David Regal, Rich Smith.
Volume Three contains 28 incredible poker routines from 9 of the top performers in the world! We've even included a little Blackjack and Bottom Dealing! Watch as magical superstars such as Lennart Green, Darwin Ortiz, Juan Tamariz, Martin A. Nash, Larry Jennings and Allan Ackerman sit down and share all of the details of their pet poker routines.
Volume Four contains over 120 invaluable card sleights from 6 of the top performers in the world. A great collection of Palming (35 items), False Shuffles (20 items), False Deals (38 items), False Cuts (8 items), Faro Shuffle Work (18 items) and Multiple Shifts ever assembled onto one DVD series. Items from: Lennart Green. Martin A. Nash, Allan Ackerman, Darwin Ortiz, Andrew Wimhurst and Michael Close. $120.00 (DVD00717A)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8875&cat=0&page=1)
Taste Conditions – Morgan Strebler: This mesmerizing and innovative effect is actually simple, but the psychological impact is dramatic!
Have a spectator open a new bottle of water and take a drink. Then, you transform the water to mouthwash inside of their mouth! At the end of the routine, the spectator spits the mouthwash into a clear glass for all to see!! Seeing is believing!!
Great for close up, stand up, and stage show performances.
Add Taste Conditions to your performance collection today! $24.95 (10.1392)
"Morgan’s Taste Conditions routine brings a fresh new idea to the table. The effect is unique and the manuscript is very well written. Every detail is uncovered so you will be performing Taste Conditions in no time! Give this routine the time and practice it deserves and you will have a great weapon in your arsenal of material." -- Luke Jermay
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8880&cat=0&page=1)
Dream Lock – Alan Wong: A borrowed ring is locked on a 4 digit combination brass lock. The dials are mixed by the magician. The spectator can hold onto the lock while the dials are mixed and spectator can test a few times that the lock cannot be opened. Another spectator thinks of any 4 digit number and dials the numbers on the lock by herself. It proves to be the secret code that opens the lock! Spectator then retrieves her ring from the lock. There is no need to force any pre-conditioned numbers such as someone’s year of birth, anniversary or birthday.
You can do any of the following:
Ask spectator to name any 4 digit number
Tell the spectator you are going to project the secret 4 digit number to her mind and have the spectator name it.
Have 4 different people name a single number each to form a 4 digit number. (This plays big on stage) Whatever numbers the spectators have chosen, they dial the numbers themselves and open the lock with their own hands!
Important points:
• Work is pure mechanical, nothing will break
• Nothing to add or take away
• No electronics, no remote control
• No magnets, no PK rings
• No threads, no wires
• No buttons, no switches
• No gravity switch, no directional limit
• No timers
• No years, no birthdays you can use any numbers
• Lock can be in spectator’s hand from the beginning to end of performance
• Reset in 2 seconds and right under the nose of a spectator
• Any 4 digit number can be named. Absolutely no force.
$97.50 (40.573)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8881&cat=0&page=1)
Garden Of the Strange – Caleb Strange: In 2003, Caleb Strange was asked to write a book: nearly four years in the making, here is the brilliant result.
This beautifully written, deeply affecting book takes Mr. Strange’s trademark blend of innovative thinking and stunning presentations to the next level. With twenty compelling and original routines, and an additional half-dozen ‘from your pocket’ variations, this eagerly awaited work will be of great use and interest to mentalists, bizarrists, and table-hoppers alike.
Beyond its fine, audience-centered effects, this book contains something more, of equal value to the working performer. For tucked away within its full and thorough notes, the attentive reader will find explained a wide range of powerful yet often neglected techniques (linguistic, literary, theatrical), which can be used to maximize the impact and enhance the quality of one’s work.
This is a thrilling and, above all, fresh exploration of the art of the impossible: a lyrical and accomplished volume, it has been called, more than once, ‘the most inspiring book of magic I have yet read’.
Contents Include:
• Hunting Mammoths in the Rain - An ancient symbol, carved on rock, induces a rich stink of memory in a volunteer.
• In Your Hands - A client’s question is answered in stunning symbolic fashion during a tarot reading.
• The Collector - A story about collecting.
• I’ll Take Your Hand, My Love, and We’ll Remember - An elderly lady feels young again, and mistily dreams of her first sweetheart.
• Stepping as Through a Waterfall - A borrowed coin bends and then melts visibly away, as you relate a chilling story.
• Wishing Star - O Momma! Don’t want to tip this one here. But yes! It works. Trust me.
• Bubbles - A poignant story about bubbles, and what they contain.
• Safe Hands - A nasty and bloody story about revenge.
• Junior - A canine-toothed nibble of comic whimsy.
• A Certain Charm - An embarrassing situation is resolved in a pleasing and most civilized manner.
• The Koestler Protocol - A spectator mentally selects a target picture, which you are able to duplicate under test conditions.
• Synchronicity - A spectator shares a dream and something wonderful happens.
• Sinne Eater - An atmospheric ‘period’ story about eating. Bonus inclusion: Caleb’s recipe for plum cake.
• We Eat What We Are - In a communal act of courage, you and your guests resolve long-troubling memories.
• A Rose Without Thorns - An impromptu séance ends in an unlikely and disturbing manner.
• Hidden Treasure - Magic sparkles delightfully in an unexpected place.
• The Wrong Side of the Road - A story with a thought-provoking twist.
• The Ten Thousand Things - A member of your audience - a stranger to you – duplicates another’s drawing on stage.
• Play the Film Backwards - A life in pictures.
• The Vanishing - Your show ends in a truly extraordinary manner. Plus bonus magic of a scintillating nature.
170 pages. $75.00 (BK01528)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8882&cat=0&page=1)
Disintegration DVD: The Ashes on Arm has always been one of the coolest tricks, but for as long as the trick has existed the revelation has always been on the magician’s own arm.
Disintigration allows you to walk up to a crowd of people you have never met, alone with no set up and have their thoughts appear on their own arm. This DVD is a detailed explanation of the devious method behind Disintigration as well as a list of alternate handlings and variations. The explanations include a discussion of the various substances that can be used instead of the ashes (like table pepper for those magicians who do table magic). The DVD also includes modifications of the original handling to suit your personal style as well as variations to be able to do the trick under different settings or different working conditions.
You will learn how to have a spectator think of someone’s initials, a playing card, a number, a symbol etc., and have that thought revealed on their own arm, and the best part is Disintigration uses:
* No stooges
* No setup
* No difficult sleight of hand
* No gimmick
$29.95 (DVD00713)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8867&cat=0&page=1)
New York Magic Coin Magic Seminar VDVD Volume 3: This volume continues the Copper Silver theme with another two hours of non-stop Coin-Magic.
The Spellbound section is highlighted with routines from Dr. Michael Rubinstein and Mike Gallo. The next section discusses Copper Silver routines with such props as purses, boxes and handkerchiefs. Rubinstein starts off with the Sub Trunk illusion done with coins. Following that is a three-phase routine using a handkerchief and a new way to utilize the J. W. Grip. David Roth presents his own handling in a four-phase routine. Gallo shows a wild, wild coin routine. Roth then presents his classic Purse And Glass Routine after which, Latta and Gallo present their own unique versions.
As with volume two, there is a Bonus Section filled with material filmed at the New York Coin Magic Seminars. Found here, is an in-depth discussion of one-hand coin switches by David Roth. Rubinstein and guest Marc DeSouza also discuss two more Spellbound routines. Gallo follows with an alternate ending for his Which Way Wiild routine.
On each DVD is a hidden "Easter Egg" - an unadvertised effect that can only be found by clicking your remote at the right time - look for an arrow on one of the menus, and you won't be disappointed! $34.95 (DVD00715)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8869&cat=0&page=1)
37 – Marc Oberon: From Marc Oberon, whose Bang On was such a huge hit, comes 37, an incredible prediction effect!
A folded prediction is shown written on a slip of paper which is placed in an empty envelope and left in full view.
A spectator names any two-digit number, the prediction is removed and the number written matches the named number. Every time!
$24.95 (40.571
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8873&cat=0&page=1)
And that’s all the newest and bestest for this week. It’s a ton of stuff, and there is really something for everyone. And so, as always, I hope you will find some time to spend with us online at www.magicfact.com, or in person at our fabulous retail showroom at 112 South Street in Boston. Either way, we do love the company.
Hank Lee
