Friday, May 09, 2008

It's Mother's Day, So Don't Forget!

Greetings from all of us at Hank Lee’s Magic Factory. I hope everyone got the photos I posted last week of my cousin’s son’s Long Island Bar Mitzvah. Great photos, I know you must have enjoyed them. I wonder, would you like to see some photos of our trip to Howe’s Cavern? I think I may also have some photos floating around of our wedding? Any interest in those? Just let me know.
When I bought the tickets to last Sunday’s Red Sox game, the weather guy was promising sunny and warm. The liar. It rained all day Friday and Saturday. Sunday, the rain finally stopped, but it was just plain cold. But, we are troopers. Oh, yes we are. So, off we went to Fenway Park for the ball game. The game was excellent. The Red Sox won. Did you see us there? We were the ones with icicles hanging from our faces? Brrrr.
Aron has been home all week, and we have really enjoyed having him with us. He made a long list of techno-improvements that we absolutely must deal with. New routers, wi-fi boosters. You know, the usual. Aron got his grades for last semester. He did the best ever. All As and just a couple of Bs. We’re very proud of him!
Lucas is in the Spring play this weekend. The LHS production of Faust. Should be very interesting. All I know is that Lucas is wearing white jazz shoes. ‘Nuff said.
Bonnie is knee-deep in party planning for the big graduation party. I have taken a most definite don’t ask don’t tell position on this one. But, knowing Bonnie, it will be fun. I know. I can post some photos of the party! Want to see them?
Don’t forget that this Sunday is Mother’s Day. Make sure you get a card and a little something for your mother, your wife and any other female in your life. It’s oh, so important. And, I’m not joking.
And, now to this week’s excitement.

MAYDAY Sales Event: It’s May. What can you say? The sun is shining. The flowers are blooming. The trees are leafing. All seems right with the world! And so, for the next seven days, from the very moment you receive this email until Thursday, May 15th at midnight, everything (well, almost everything) is on sale at 25% off the retail price. All you need to do is enter the special code MAYDAY in the Discount Coupon Box of the online checkout at www.magicfact.com and we will automatically deduct 25% from your order total. If you are calling your order in to the Toll Free Order Line at 800 874 7400, FAXing your order to us at 781 395 2034 or emailing us your order to magicfact@aol.com make sure to mention the special code so you can save a huge 25%!
• The minimum order to use the 25% off discount is $25.00.
• The 25% is deducted from the retail price of the item. No intermediate discounts (such as HankoGram pricing) may be applied. In the case of sets, such as DVDs and Videos, the 25% is deducted from the retail price of each item and not from the set price.
• Certain items, due to contractual restrictions, are not included in this sale. All Joe Porper items, Viking/CW items, Kennedy Enterprises items, Colin Rose items, Mike Caveney Books, JB Magic, Johnson Products items, MagicSmith items, Mikame Craft items, Greater Magic Teach-In DVDs, One Of A Kind Collectors' Items and a few other items are not included in the sale.
• If you place an order for an item that is not on this list or not noted in our online catalog, but is excluded from the sale, we will let you know before processing your order.
• Coupons will be deducted from the order total before the discount is applied.
• As the discount is automatically generated, you must put the special code MAYDAY in the Discount Coupon Box. You may have to scroll to the bottom of the page to find the box, but it is there. If you are not sure how to do this, please phone your order in to our toll-free order line at 800 874 7400, and we will take care of you. We cannot offer discounts retroactively.
And that's it. It could not be easier. So, get your order together and save yourself some serious money! But, act quickly. The sale ends Thursday at midnight!

Now, let’s take a look at this week’s Hotlist!

Miracle Premonition – Steve Shufton: An open prediction like no other!
Explain the idea of psychic premonition - that it might actually be possible to accurately predict an event that has yet to take place. To demonstrate, show the back of a mini playing card. This mini card will be used as the prediction of a card the spectator has yet to select.
Instead of a mini playing card, you may openly write a prediction on a slip of paper, fold it and leave it in full view.
The prediction can be put in a small envelope, a rubber-banded matchbox or simply left in full view face down on the table. One way or another, the prediction is left in full view and you emphasize that it will not be touched again.
A deck of cards is removed from the card box and ribbon spread on the table, or spread between your hands. The cards are initially spread face down, as you explain that a magician will typically ask a spectator to select a card from a face down deck, which seems hardly fair! After all, without seeing the cards, the spectator has no way of knowing if it was a free selection. The cards might all be the same, or the magician may be able to use some sort of trickery to influence the spectator in his choice!
Scoop the cards up again and re-spread the deck face up. Now there is no way that the spectator can be lulled into selecting any particular card. Emphasize that, as the spectator can see, all 52 cards are there, and even a Joker, so the spectator truly has a free choice of absolutely any card in the deck.
Ask the spectator to very carefully look over all the cards, and
indicate when she has made a decision. You gather up the cards. The spectator is asked to name the card so there can be absolutely no mistake that the card she names and the card she saw are definitely the same card - she can still change her mind one last time! The cards are boxed and set back on the table.
With your hands in full sight and no false moves of any kind, pick up the matchbox and remove the rubber band. The spectator admits that the box has never been out of her sight.
Your hands are shown empty before the drawer is removed. Push open the drawer and shake the miniature card out onto the table. You never touch the mini card. The spectator verifies that nothing else is in the box and nothing went in or came out of it since it was originally sealed.
The spectator is invited to turn the card over. Guess what? The miniature card perfectly matches the random and free selection!
This amazing effect has some advantages worth considering:
This effect is completely self-contained. It can be done anytime, anywhere, in short sleeves, and no pocket work. The hands and props never leave the spectator’s sight. The spectator truly has a completely free choice of any of the cards, and the deck is full, including a joker, with no duplicates. The choice is really free! No force of any kind!
Nothing extra is needed or used. Resets in a few seconds. No memory work. Easy to do and an absolute killer that will fool the wisest ones! Use a matchbox, an envelope or do it with no cover at all! Many revelations are included in the 32 page booklet!
Shufton's Miracle Premonition has been in development for over three years. No expense has been spared to furnish the highest quality product. Each takes hours of painstaking, meticulous work - so much so, that you will not find anything else like it, anywhere at any price!
The price has been kept as low as possible, believe me! $149.95 (30.1335)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9429&cat=0&page=1)

Bob Does Hospitality – Bob Sheets: A series of three DVDs covering Bob’s current close-up repertoire of nine routines. These routines are the ones Bob does every day. These are the ones that get the money! Each DVD contains one “act”. Each act is built on three dynamite routines that will play well in any close-up situation from strolling during cocktails to table-hopping to formal close-up. With all three acts in his pockets, Bob can go from group to group without repeating a routine until he gets to the fourth group—yet each group gets to see a complete show. This strategy is without a doubt the smartest way to work many events. You have enough material to do a really great job but your pockets aren’t filled to the brim and you don’t have to carry a case to the show. Each routine is independent so you can mix and match the routines to the audience in front of you, on the fly. The methods for the routines are in a word, easy. Bob has done most of the work for you. If the
best method is a gaff, Bob uses a gaff. If the best method is a series of outs Bob shows you what to say and how to say it. Bob uses easy methods so you can concentrate on your performance! Even though the methods are easy the routines are
foolers!

Volume One:
Bunnies — It’s a classic, but Bob’s non-stop lines have the audience in stitches from start to finish. Bob teaches two handlings, one uses no sleight of hand at all!
Intuition — This card routine is Sheets at his best. Members of the audience read each other’s minds and have no idea how they did it!
Marked — Bob’s handling of a classic John Cornelius trick. It’s got it all.

Volume Two:
Triple Transpo — This routine is the classic Copper, Silver, Brass but Bob’s new handling has solved the problem of ringing the gaffed set in and out invisibly without going to your pockets.
Botcha — A diabolical multi-phase version of Triumph.
Red Hot Mama — Bob’s taken Whit Haydn’s work into the stratosphere by developing a series of outs that let the spectators make all of the decisions, change their minds as much as they like, yet you still control the outcome!

Volume Three:
Three Ball Trick— Non-stop visuals and the best work on the methods for the classic three ball plot.
Flash Deck — Instant mindreading! The deck does 95% of the work for you. Destined to become a classic.
Six Tricks In Two Minutes —It’s more like 60 tricks in 2 minutes! The deck is gaffed and does the work for you.
Special price for all three DVDs: $79.95 (DVD00868A)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9420&cat=0&page=1)

Silver Impression: From Alex Lourido, the creator of Glass Mirage and ButterCoin, Silver Impression includes a full length instructional DVD, and two incredible gaffs.
With these tools, you'll be armed and ready to visibly melt a coin with your bare hands, and smash your fingerprint into the coin - permanently! In addition, you'll learn how to use these techniques to create a stunning card revelation.
Warning: this effect is so powerful, spectators will swear they just witnessed a true paranormal event! $39.95 (20.386)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9417&cat=0&page=1)

Secrets of Close-Up Magic DVD – Volume One:
World’s Greatest Magic By The World’s Greatest Magicians -
Magicians who specialize in close-up magic are constantly in search of material that doesn’t use playing cards. Easily seventy-five percent of the magic that’s been published over the last 50 or 60 years has been card magic of one kind or another, so quality non-card material is a relatively scarce commodity in the literature.
On this DVD, you’ll meet seven different performers presenting and teaching powerful close-up routines that will wow any audience – and there’s not a playing card in sight!
The legendary Bruce Cervon starts off with a beautifully routined piece of magic where a borrowed handkerchief is clearly seen to be burned, magically repaired and then used for a stunning production.
Glen Falkenstein, of the famed mentalism team of Falkenstein & Willard, combines two simple and well-known dealer items to create a beautiful hybrid of magic.
Michael Ammar gives you all of the work on Stefan Schutzer’s wonderful animated bill effect.
Bob Read is next with a hilarious routine that will make you sorry you laughed so hard because you will be badly fooled by the trick’s end.
Mark Leveridge offers an elegant and very magical coin box routine.
Flip brings the mystery of the classic linking rings to a few safety pins.
Finally, Bill Malone performs and teaches a wonderful (and wonderfully portable!) Cups and Balls routine that will charm young and old alike.
$19.95 (DVD00872)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9425&cat=0&page=1)

Cookie’s Fortune – Paul Romhany & T.C. Tahoe:
A modern and entertaining mentalism routine that will wow any audience!
Walk through the audience, having a few different spectators write numbers down on the back of your business card. Then, invite a spectator to join you on stage, hand her the card and ask her to add the numbers together.
Bring out a Chinese takeout box filled with Fortune Cookies. Two or three cookies are cracked open and the fortunes read aloud.
The fortunes are then placed into a plastic bag containing fortunes from all your past cookies. The box of cookies is placed in full view.
Another spectator reaches into the plastic bag and takes out one of the fortunes without revealing what it says.
Once these things are done you try unsuccessfully to read the spectators’ minds. Explain that it’s just one of those days, and you should have known it too, because you went out for Chinese food last night and your fortune cookie told you to beware of large crowds today. Always listen to your Fortune Cookie.
A spectator is given a free choice of any of the other fortune cookies and asked to hold onto it. (note: these are real cookies sealed in their own individual plastic wrapping)
Finally, the spectator cracks open the cookie and the saying on the cookie matches the chosen fortune! Plus, the ‘lucky number’ on the reverse side matches the total of the audience chosen numbers!
An amazing routine that includes:
* Bag of Real Fortune Cookies (real cookies)
* Bag of Gimmicked Fortune Cookies (also real cookies)
* Takeout boxes
* Special gimmicked force bag
* Detailed instructions
$94.95 (60.1520)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9431&cat=0&page=1)

Secrets Of Close-Up Magic DVD – Volume Two:
World’s Greatest Magic By The World’s Greatest Magicians.
On this DVD, you’ll meet eight different performers presenting and teaching powerful close-up routines that will wow any audience – and there’s not a playing card in sight!
Eugene Burger and David Parr begin this volume with a stunning update of U. F. Grant’s classic bill transposition.
Banachek is next with a sensational book test.
J. J. Sanvert combines two effects to create a wonderful interlude with a spectator’s borrowed bill.
Gregory Wilson follows with a mind-boggling bill switch routine that takes the audience on a figurative trip around the world
Paul Wilson performs and teaches a streamlined version of John Ramsay’s classic Cylinder and Coins.
Finally, Daryl demonstrates a totally impromptu one-cup routine that can be performed any time and any place.
$19.95 (DVD00873)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9426&cat=0&page=1)

Magic At The Edge DVD Set – Jeff McBride:
The middle of the Nevada desert. Four hundred square miles of nothing. Not even streets. Just 50,000 people attending the world’s largest art festival. It’s Survival Magic and there are no spectators, only participants in the most extreme conditions imaginable. Welcome to Burning Man and Magic at the Edge! Since the dawn of time, magicians have sought inspiration in the most unusual places. Burning Man is one of the most inspiring environments for performance magic in all the world.
You’ve seen Jeff McBride featured on A&E’s Mindfreak, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and VH-1’s Celebracadabra. Now you can see Jeff in action performing his magic at one of the wildest places in the world, the Burning Man Art Festival. But this is far more than just a performance video. It is a teaching video, an exploration that searches for the very heart and soul of magic. Here is an inside look into the lifestyle of one of the world’s great magicians and how and why he seeks inspiration.
Magic at the Edge offers magic for all skill levels, with commentary from Eugene Burger and Jeff’s wife, Abbi McBride. They share their philosophies and techniques on performance. They teach you how you can add more meaning to your existing routines and use your magic to teach powerful lessons. Polish the magic you already perform and experience the wisdom of these masters of the art.

Disc One: Magician 24/7
Includes: Tribal Piercing, Magic Wishing Rainbow, Rainbow To Dollar, Wishing Rainbow/Rainbow To Rose, Magic Bubbles, Hindu Rope/Rising Card, The Bead & String Mystery, World’s Fastest Hands, No Smoking, The Pod Belt and McWallet
Discussions: Magician 24/7, Audience Participation, Flight Time, 21st Century Street Magic With Eugene Burger
Bonus Material:Meet Jeff McBride, The Shaman’s Drum, McTip #1

Disc Two: Survival Magic
Includes: Houdini Straightjacket, The Magnetic Cards, Heart Connection, Prisna’s Dancing Cane, The Shark Fin Pin, Samina’s Into Gold, Trash To Treasure, Business Card Connection, McQuick Tip trick, McMint.
Discussions: Traveling With Props, Less-On, Interview with Sensei Strange
Bonus Material: Mystery School, Assistant’s Revenge, McTip #2

Disc Three: Art Attack
Includes: Chen Lee McBurger Water Suspension, Water In The Newspaper, Jinks, Listen To The Mustn’ts, Hermetic Star Gazer, Spellbound, Burning Man In The Hand, Fire Ritual
Discussions: About Burning Man, Simplicity
Bonus Material: Kabuki Magic, McTip #3, TV Commercial, Fire Circle
$99.95 (DVD00871)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9424&cat=0&page=1)

Sponge Eggs - Alan Wong
One egg multiplies into four. Spectator chooses one of the eggs and it turns into a duck!
You are supplied with four sponge eggs and a rubber ducky with opening at the bottom.
Egg Dimensions Approximately 2 1/2" x 1 1/2" (6.35cm x 3.81cm)
Duck Dimensions Approximately 2" x 2" x 1 3/4" (5.08cm x 5.08cm x 4.44cm)
$20.00 (10.1453)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9430&cat=0&page=1)

Secrets Of Close-Up Magic DVD – Volume Three:
World’s Greatest Magic By the World’s Greatest Magicians.
On this DVD, you’ll meet seven different performers presenting and teaching powerful close-up routines that will wow any audience – and there’s not a playing card in sight!
John Mendoza leads off with his stunning version of the Benson/Alan bowl routine, complete with three jaw-dropping final loads that actually make sense.
Next up, Tommy Wonder demonstrates a truly impossible feat as he magically threads a needle with 20 strands of thread, creating a wonderful souvenir in the process.
Al Schneider performs a great money printing routine while teaching the proper handling of a Himber Wallet at the same time.
Henry Evans shows off a whimsical miracle where a silk handkerchief is produced from a photograph.
Master coin manipulator David Roth magically transforms four U.S. coins into coins from different countries before causing them to vanish and reappear in a toy globe that was in plain sight throughout the routine.
Johnny Thompson reaches back into magic history to perform and teach Max Malini’s classic assembly trick.
Last but by no means least, Larry Jennings demonstrates a signature effect, his one cup-one ball routine, which begins with the magical production of the cup and ends with its complete vanish.
$19.95 (DVD00874)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9427&cat=0&page=1)

Split Spades Deck - Lion Series - David Blaine
For the past several months David Blaine and his production team have been carefully crafting the next generation of his Split Spades Deck - The Lions. The deck features a level of intricacy never before seen in playing card design, and David himself experimented with the feel and finish until he was 101% satisfied.
The Split Spades design is iconic - there is an elegance and a level of intricacy among each element of the core design. The Ace of Spades design (and the box design) are all new, featuring two-way images and hidden text. These features and other revolutionary design components unite to form a deck that is unlike any other.
The finish and card stock is unique and completely new to the Split Spades. Not too thick, not too thin. The focus was to produce a deck that handled well and - just as importantly - lasted.
Split Spades playing cards are recognized as must-haves among magicians and card players - a true collector's item. The latest edition, the Lion Deck, is once again personally designed by David Blaine, in collaboration with renowned artist Mark Stutzman. Printed in limited quantities.
* Made by the United States Playing Card Company from the highest quality papers for improved handling and durability.
* An elegant highly detailed card back design.
* Beautifully designed box
* Custom face cards and Ace of Spades design
* An Optical illusion Joker. $6.95 (30.1334)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9418&cat=0&page=1)

Divine2 - Stathi Zaf:
The Ultimate Method to Divine a Spectator's Thoughts
Step into the uncommon mind of Stathi Zaf, one of the most extraordinary underground magicians to ever hit the scene. Combining his deep appreciation and love for magic and mentalism, a passion for engineering, and a critical thinking ability that would challenge the most gifted inventors in history, Stathi Zaf introduces you to one of the most devilish and deviously clever methods ever devised to definitely divine a spectator's thoughts.
On the streets and in the studio, Stathi teaches you everything you'll ever need to know to not only construct this diabolical gaff, but to also slay audiences no matter where you perform. And the beauty is, you'll do it right under their noses.
Kept secret and only revealed to a select few for many years, Stathi finally shares this fantastic method with you in this informative and educational DVD as part of the Stathi Zaf Project. $24.95 (40.633)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9428&cat=0&page=1)

And, that’s the lot of it. And, a fine lot it is! Great magic coupled with a super-fine sales event. What more could you ask for? Here’s hoping you have all kinds of fun checking out this week’s new stuff.
As for me, as always I hope you will find some time to spend with us either online at www.magicfact.com or in person at our decorated for Mother’s Day showroom at 102 North Street in Medford. Either way we love the company.
Hank