Greetings from all of us at Hank Lee’s Magic Factory. Tonight is Halloween, and I am working feverishly on my costume. I can’t tell you what the costume is yet, but rest assured it will be mighty scary! All the neighborhood kiddies are in for a big surprise when they ring our doorbell. Especially if I decide to release the hound. Bones loves candy!
Next Tuesday is Election Day here in the US. And, it is important that you get out and vote. To me, the candidate you vote for is not the issue. The issue is just voting. Every vote counts, especially yours. If the guy you like gets in, it could be because of your note. And, if the guy you don’t like gets in, the only way you have earned the right to complain is if you cast your vote. So, even if it’s raining or snowy, make the effort. OK?
Earlier this week I received an email from Charlotte Pendragon. She and Jonathan will definitely be with us for next year’s Cape Cod Magic Conclave. And, we are really excited. You should be as well. So excited in fact, that you hop on over to www.magicfact.com, click on the Conclave Button, and register for the 2009 event! You’ll be glad you did. And, so will we.
Have you noticed the price of gas recently? Of course you have. Around here, it has dropped almost $1.50 a gallon in the past couple of weeks. It’s like real magic! I honestly can’t figure it out. Can you? If you can explain it to me, I’d love to hear the answer. Maybe I’ll ask Aron. He seems to know everything.
As everyone who reads the newspaper or watches the news knows, the stock market has been very mean and angry lately. But, the past few days, it has looked like a far more friendly beast. The good news for all of you is that I have been forced to push my retirement ahead to the end of the century, the current century. So, you are stuck with me for the foreseeable future.
Now, let’s take a look at this week’s two-pronged excitement! There’s a lot to read, but it is all good!
Part One: Halloween Savings Event EXTENDED: Just four more days! From right now until Monday, the 3rd of November at midnight, when you purchase from us at Hank Lee’s, you will save 25% on your entire order, subject to the rules below. All you need to do is enter the special code HALLOWEENSAVINGS 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!
There are a few rules that apply, as with all things in life.
• The minimum order to use this discount is $25.00.
• The discount 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 discount 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, Paul Harris Prime Time Magic items, Viking/CW items, Kennedy Enterprises items, Colin Rose items, Mike Caveney Books, MagicSmith, Martin Breese, Mikame Craft items, Johnson Products 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 and Reward Points will be deducted from the order total before the discount is applied.
• As the discount is automatically generated, you must put the special code HALLOWEENSAVINGS 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!
Part Two! QUADRUPLE POINTS: The Hank Lee Rewards Program has been up and running for some time now, and people are collecting some serious points and getting all kinds of stuff using those points. As a reminder, for every retail dollar you spend with us at Hank Lee’s, you will get one Reward Point. Twenty Reward Points can be redeemed for one dollar in merchandise. Two hundred Reward Points gets you $10.00 in free merchandise. And on and on. The points are automatically added, and your point balance will appear on the invoice that comes with your order. There is no limit to the number of points you can collect. The points will not expire, so you can use them any time. All you need to do is tell us how many points you want to redeem when you place your next order (if you are ordering online, just put the number of points you would like to redeem in the Customer Notes Box and we will deduct the proper number of dollars from your order total). We think it’s a great idea. The perfect way to save for future orders! What could be better?
I’ll tell you what’s better. Quadruple Points! That’s right, from Tuesday the 4th of November until Thursday the 6th of November at midnight, we are giving you Quadruple Points! So, for every retail dollar you spend, you will get four points. The points will add up so fast that you won’t believe it! And you can use them with your very next order or with an order you place a year from now. The points never expire. So, buy some magic and watch those points accumulate!
Now, let’s take a gander at this week’s Hotlist.
Tattoo Joe
- Joe Russell and Paul Harris:
Your examined, empty hand gently rubs your naked arm. Slowly and visibly, a big bold tattoo appears on your skin!
Rub your arm again and the tattoo completely vanishes!
And, if you feel like it, make a totally different tattoo appear on your other arm!
No chemicals.
No makeup.
No wet or sticky stuff.
Instant reset.
A girl blows you a kiss and you catch it on your arm. Pull pips off a playing cards and reprint them on your skin. Make your phone number magically appear for the ladies. Produce your client's name or logo.
A spectator grabs your arm and their fingerprints appear in blood. Customize a gimmick with any word, picture, or symbol. Works with just about any skin tone.
Use the same gimmick hundreds of times (two different tattoos per gimmick). Perform surrounded with sleeves rolled up or with short sleeves.
Incredibly easy! If you can rub your arm you can do Tattoo Joe!
Complete with everything you need to customize your own Tattoo Joe gimmicks.
Includes enough stuff to create 12 different re-usable custom tattoos.
$35.00 (10.1479)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9674&cat=0&page=1)
Tagged – Richard Sanders: From the mind of Cameron Owen, with revised handlings, tips and variations by Richard Sanders, comes the ultimate street magic effect!
A card is selected and then shuffled back into the pack.
The impossible begins to unfold. Draw attention the dog tag chain hanging from your neck. It is ordinary and ungimmicked. Slowly wave the deck of cards around the dog tag chain. Suddenly, the selected card leaps from the pack and impales itself onto the chain!
Now get ready for the best part. There are no slits or tears in the card and the chain is solid. The spectator can totally examine everything.
The two objects are permanently linked.
This is an intellectual impossibility!
Tagged can be performed as a stand-alone effect or as the perfect closer to your card routine!
Key Points:
* Completely self contained illusion
* No magnets or sticky stuff
* Use any deck
* Use any dog tag chain
* Everything is totally examinable
* Angle-proof penetration
The perfect closer to any card routine
Package includes:
* 36" Custom Dog Tag Chain
* Special gimmick
* Full training DVD that will guide you through every step of this effect, including method, performance, variations, handling tips and all the subtleties that make this effect so devastating. $24.95 (30.1385)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9679&cat=0&page=1)
Whitestar – Jim Critchlow: A perfect separation of the living from the dead!
Seated at a table opposite two volunteers, you place a small article in front of each person, such as an old coin and an old fountain pen. These are to act as 'markers.'
Bring out a small packet of old photographs which you quickly thumb through as you mention to the volunteers that they may recognize some of the photos. All of the subjects were passengers on the Titanic, and all of the photos have appeared in books or programs about that ill-fated liner.
Square the packet and turn it to the first volunteer. Explain that you are going to show her the photographs one at a time, and if they feel somehow drawn to some, they should tell you and you will place those photos in front of her and her 'marker'. The remainder of the photos are placed in a “discard” pile in the center of the table.
The same procedure is followed with the second spectator.
When all the photographs have been kept or rejected, you bring attention to the discard pile. Thumbing through the photographs you explain how any of the photos could have been retained by the volunteers; the choices were absolutely free and fair.
Explain that the old coin was taken from one of the bodies found in the wreckage of the Titanic and the fountain pen was used by a clerk to write out the list of all the survivors. The person with the coin is asked to turn their photographs over and in doing so they see each photograph has printed on its back the name of the person, a few details about them and that they died in the tragedy!
The spectator holding the fountain pen turns their photographs over and sees the similar details but all their photographs have the word “Survived” printed on them! The discarded pile is turned over and shown that there is a complete mix, in no sequence of both the Died and the Survived photographs!
Comes complete with 28 high quality professionally produced cards and a detailed, photo illustrated 21 page book teaching you the full routine, presentation and tips and techniques to make this effect a reputation maker.
No Sleight of Hand Required!
The cards are completely ungimmicked, and fully examinable!
Instantly resets to perform again!
The cards really are completely mixed and shuffled by the spectators. You do not change the order of the cards at all once the spectator has mixed them, or after the spectators have chosen the cards they want to keep!
No switches. The spectators decide if they want to keep the cards or discard them and that's final.
Several additional routines are included. $60.00 (40.654)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9681&cat=0&page=1)
Coffee Break - Brent Arthur & James Geris:
You are in a coffee shop and have been asked to do some magic, but you don't have "anything" on you. Ask the spectators to get a random assortment of several objects from around the coffee shop. All the items are placed on the table and, one by one are eliminated by the spectator. There is one item left, let's say a sugar packet. Show the innocent-looking coffee sleeve to your audience and it has printed on it: "The Sugar Packet is left"
How about this?
Using a handful of business cards, playing cards or napkins, the spectator randomly shuffles or switches the order of them. To their amazement, you reveal the order of the cards in a hair-raising, surprising and coffee sleeve revealing manner!
These are just 2 of the amazing things that the Coffee Break can do!
Coffee Break allows you to perform your magic anytime and anywhere. It is the perfect utility for both magicians and mentalists. You no longer need to carry around props. There are 6 amazing revelations on this coffee sleeve. These specially printed sleeves match most coffee shops, delis and restaurants throughout the world You can perform an entire magic act with just one sleeve!
You get plenty of reusable sleeves with a few different designs to match the performance location.
Comes with a booklet, with cover and complete instructions for all the different revelations.
Easy enough for a beginner yet powerful enough for the most advanced magician! $16.95 (10.1481)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9683&cat=0&page=1)
Submersion: A Danny Case creation. You have to see this. Two cards are placed in the middle of the deck so they're sticking out in two different spots, away from one another. Suddenly, the cards are seen to slowly come together, passing right through the other cards in between them. The visual is insane. The secret is even better.
* Can be done with a borrowed deck
* No trick props
$25.00 (30.1386)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9682&cat=0&page=1)
Sharpie Tip Pen - D. Juan Sanchez:
The performer, displaying his strong mental powers, causes a Sharpie pen to wobble and then fall off the table edge! An incredible display of mentalism, done with an everyday object.
No Magnets, thread, or electronics.
You can stand as far away as desired.
You can control the time delay.
Each Sharpie is hand made.
Each pen actually writes.
When you purchase the Sharpie Tip Pen you will receive a normal everyday black Sharpie. The ones you see everywhere! But it’s not normal. It's ready to fall off the table, or a glass, whenever you want it to.
Presentational Ideas
Talk about the ghost of Papa Lou who died while writing a letter. Every time pens or pencils are left out they end up being found in different rooms, tossed on the ground, or even gone completely. Lets see if the spirit of Papa Lou is here tonight…
Sympathetic Pens. One Sharpie is set on the table edge and a second Sharpie is held at the fingertips. When the second Sharpie is dropped to the floor the first Sharpie falls off the table!
Also taught is one of Juan's pet effects! House parties are great for this effect because you can really talk up the presentation and get everyone involved. Just before the pen falls, their home television turns off! The pen falls. They all scream!
Thanks to Larry White the creator of the original tip pen.
$40.00 (10.1480)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9680&cat=0&page=1)
The Doctor ls ln – 6 DVD Set! The New Coin Magic of Dr. Sawa:
Hosted by Max Maven
When Dr. Sawa burst onto the magic scene back in the 1970s, he caused an international sensation.
His work with paper, seashells, ropes and especially coins, was simultaneously whimsical and astonishing. Some years ago, for private reasons, Dr. Sawa vanished from the magic world. Happily, he has resurfaced—his enthusiasm for magic not only renewed, but actually increased. This multiple-DVD set contains almost fifty new and astonishing coin routines on a total of six DVDs.
The Professor, Dai Vernon, summed up Dr. Sawa this way:
“One of the most creative magicians I have ever known. As the saying goes, you have to see it to believe it—and even then, you won’t!”
Six Volume Set: $180.00 (DVD00937)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9677&cat=0&page=1)
Secrets Of Card Fanning DVD: World’s Greatest Magic By The World’s Greatest Magicians -In a manipulation act, nothing elicits oohs and ahhs from an appreciative audience more than playing cards displayed in elaborate fans that change color, size and even magically divide seemingly at the magician’s will.
This DVD is an information tour de force on the arcane subject of creating elaborate fan displays using playing cards. First, master manipulator Alan Shaxon supplies all of the basic information you’ll need to know to get started, including the types of cards to use, their preparation, and the elementary techniques. Then, Jeff McBride, a modern master of card manipulation, goes into even more detail on the fine art of fanning playing cards. Finally, the godfather of street magic, Jeff Sheridan, adds some more touches and ideas to round out your education.
Henry Hay, in his classic The Amateur Magician’s Handbook, said of card fanning, “More than any other flourish, fanning has to be taught by example rather than precept.”
You’ll soon be discovering that, short of personal instruction, this DVD suits Mr. Hay’s intention perfectly. $19.95 (DVD00936)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9675&cat=0&page=1)
Manipulation Cards: These are perfect for split fans and single productions. All that is needed is some fanning powder and the cards will fan perfectly.
"In my experience, it's the best manipulative deck on the market today, and I've used them all. It requires no breaking in, other than using fanning powder. Thin enough that you can back palm the entire deck, and it has an excellent "snap" property for productions." - Romaine "The Monarch of Manipulators" $15.00 (70.144)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9676&cat=0&page=1)
Secrets Of The Color Changing Deck – World’s Greatest Magic By The World’s Greatest Magicians - One of the key elements that makes magic entertaining is that of surprise and one of the ways that magicians have accomplished that over the years is to take a deck of playing cards that have been in use and magically change the back design color. Numerous masters of close-up magic have turned their creativity to this plot – Dai Vernon, Edward Marlo and Paul Curry are just a few of them – and the results have been finding their way into the commercial repertoires of magicians ever since.
You’ll meet seven different performers on this DVD, each with their own take on this miracle of card magic. Bill Malone is first with his version of Ed Marlo’s creation where the backs of three selected cards change color, followed by the rest of the deck. Harry Lorayne demonstrates his version of the trick (with an amazing vanish of the entire deck after the startling color change) followed by Michael Ammar’s demonstration of Dai Vernon’s Color-Changing Deck. Johnny Thompson offers Paul Curry and Oscar Weigle’s seminal creation while Boris Wild’s marketed routine features three different colors! The legendary Derek Dingle performs one of his classic routines that combines Vernon’s Triumph concept with the Color-Changing Deck while John Mendoza offers a version where, once again, three selected cards change color just before the entre deck follows suit.
The Linking Ring’s Phil Willmarth once wrote, “Color-changing deck routines are strong and an ideal way to start a program of card effects." As evidenced by the powerful and varied routines on this DVD, it could also be argued that they would also make an ideal finish. After all, what stronger magic could you do than changing the color of an entire deck of cards? $19.95 (DVD00934)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9684&cat=0&page=1)
And that’s this week’s Halloween Hotlist. Not very scary, but really excellent magic! And, all of it at a big 25% discount!
As always, I hope that you will find some time, after you finish your Trick Or Treat rounds, to spend with us either online at www.magicfact.com or in person at 102 North Street in Medford. Either way, we love your company, even if you are wearing a very scary costume!
Hank
