Friday, May 08, 2009

Free DVDs!

Greetings from all of us at Hank Lee’s Magic Factory. It has been a rainy week here in Boston. Good for the flowers, Good for the grass. Not so good for watching baseball, especially when there is a two and a half hour rain delay and the game doesn’t start until 9:30 PM. Too late for us old guys to make it through the nine innings. The good news is that the Red Sox won. Good news unless you are a Yankees fan. Don’t fret, there are a ton more games between the Sox and the Yankees and they are bound to win some of them.

A new strain of virus has hit home. Bonnie has it, and, we all pay the price. It’s the Spring Cleaning Bug. And, this year she has the worst case of it that I can remember. The Bug has made her delirious. She wants to clean the garage. We have been living in this house since 1991 or 92. That’s sixteen or seventeen years. A lot of year’s worth of stuff is stored in the garage. And now she wants to clean it. So, the dumping begins. Seems that anything not nailed down is being put in garbage bags and headed for the dump. “Do you really need that old plastic train tunnel, or can we get rid of it? What about that metal table base with the black top with the fringe? Can that go?” See what I mean, she is delirious. I’ve had that tunnel since I was eight years old. And the table is a P&L base and top. Here’s the worst part. She made Aron sweep the garage so the floor is perfectly clean. Nice. Now the cars will have a nice clean garage floor to drive on. Wouldn’t want those tires to get dirty, right? For better or worse. I get the idea.

It has been a really nice week with Aron. Tonight, we are heading to Fenway Park for the game. Just me and the boy. Which means beer, hot dogs and some serious cheering. I can’t wait.

In the magic world, we have lost one of the nicest ladies, Carol Roy. Marvyn and Carol performed at the Conclave a few times, and it would be hard to find two more gracious people. She will be missed.

I have already started mapping out next week’s trip to Oberlin, Ohio. Mapquest sent me North through upstate New York and then through Pennsylvania. The GPS in the car sends me South through New York and New Jersey. Decisions. Decisions. Either way, the mileage is the same. And, I think the snow has already stopped in Buffalo, but I am not sure. By this time next week, I will be on the road, so you know a decision will be made.

And, now, let’s look at this week’s excitement.

DVD GIVEAWAY: With so many great new DVDs hitting the market, what could be better than a DVD Giveaway! For the next six days, from right now until Wednesday, May 13th, at midnight, you have the opportunity to get DVDs for free! But, you have to get them the old fashioned way. You must earn them.
Here's the way it works. For every order of $100 or more, you get one free DVD (your choice of any single DVD that sells for $35.00 or less). If you spend $200 or more, you get two free DVDs (again, your choice). $300 or more gets you three free DVDs. And on it goes. The more you buy, the more you get for free! It's an incredible deal when you figure that the average price of a DVD is $35.00! In order to claim your free DVD, just put the name of the DVD in the Customer Notes Box at the bottom of the second page of the online checkout (after you fill in your name, address, etc.) at www.magicfact.com. If you phone your order in to our toll free number at 800 874 7400, just let the order-person know what free DVD(s) you want. If you FAX the order to us at 781 395 2034, same thing. Just let us know which ones you want. Remember, the giveaway ends on Wednesday, May 13th, at midnight!

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

The Pain Game – Jon Allen: The absolute 100% safe way to perform a Russian Roulette routine.
Forget the horror stories and videos of people stabbing themselves on nails, knives and other sharp objects. When performing The Pain Game you will never run the risk of ever doing the same thing. Why? Because both the method and procedure are totally 100% safe.
This is what happens: A six inch nail is confirmed as being solid and, indeed, sharp. The nail is pushed through a hole in a block of wood so it stands upright. This is placed into a paper bag which is then closed and sealed. Three more identical bags are introduced. The bags are mixed up so nobody knows where the nail is hidden. An audience member selects a bag and you slam your hand down on it. This is repeated with a second and third bag. The final bag is opened and the nail is revealed. Your hand lives to fight another day!
The Pain Game raises the bar for the classic 'Nail Roulette' effect to a whole new level. Thanks to the precision-made gimmick there is no safer method on the market today. While other versions have the unlikely yet ever-present danger of injuring either yourself or someone else, The Pain Game is categorically 100% safe yet the risk appears to be 100% real.
For those who want the effect without the worry there is only one choice. You will really want to check out the video demo on this one!
$500.00 (60.1589)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=1683&cat=0&page=1)

Diction – Nathan Kranzo: From Nathan Kranzo, a stunning book test for the modern thought reader.
What could be more innocent than a pocket dictionary? One that has over 35,000 words and definitions! Impressive.
“If I pulled out a book you had never seen before, you might be suspect, but this innocent and handy pocket dictionary is completely normal and examinable! Not to mentioned it is a Webster’s New World Dictionary, which is the most commonly recognized dictionary in the world.”
Have a page from the dictionary selected by people choosing random numbers. No cards, dice or math of any kind are used to select the page.
Let’s say page 42 is selected. The person holding the dictionary is asked to turn to that page. The performer can now instantly reveal at least two words for any page chosen. Not only that but the performer can give details about the word and even full definitions!
Diction can be performed for one person at the coffee shop or for 800 people in a theater. Several subtle techniques are combined to create an unexplainable feat of mentalism.
What you get:
* The most important prop is the Webster’s New World Pocket Dictionary. Note that this dictionary is ideal for carrying in your pocket. It is not a paperback. Unlike most paperback dictionaries it won’t fall apart and become worn. Feel free to toss it in the audience if you like. It will take a good lickin’. It can also be examined.
* That special something for the dictionary test. You’ll understand soon.
* The Diction instruction booklet.
* Bonus Routine: Emotional Reaction Book Test. Inspired by Larry Becker, Danny Tong, David Hoy, and Dai Vernon.
Only 500 printed. Get yours before they run out. This is a piece of mentalism that you will use for years to come.
$44.95 (40.678)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=1643&cat=0&page=1)

Shufton’s Portal: Stunning, visual magic! Carry the 4th dimension in your pocket!
Five full routines, performed and explained by David Regal
This amazing device will allow you to produce, vanish, transform, change and mutate small objects at will. Colorful, easy and visually amazing!
When Steve Shufton discovered this Portal to the 4th dimension, he realized that this is for you, the performing magician. Why? Because Shufton's Portal is the absolute perfect trick for table hopping, walk-around, seated and stand up performances in any close-up or parlor venue, and at any time!
David Regal fell into the 4th dimension, and liked it there! That is why he went to the Magic Castle, where he demonstrated, in 5 stunning routines, just a taste of what Shufton and Regal discovered through the Portal. Full performances and explanations are presented on the instructional DVD that comes with your package. And so much more!
Don't stop there - your own creative juices will burst out! You will endlessly invent new material for the Portal to entertain your audiences of all ages.
Here is what you get:
* Shufton's Portal
* Spheres
* Color Bender
* Instructional DVD - David Regal teaches you 5 full routines and tons of additional handlings and tips!
$60.00 (10.1518)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=1697&cat=0&page=1)

"Shufton's Portal arrived today. What a wonderful prop it is. Great magic, with a unique theme. Many tricks require practice, but your trick is so much fun, it requires playing around. It's too enjoyable to call it practicing.
The assortment of effects on the DVD were all wonderful - David Regal fooled me several times. While watching the DVD, I thought of some clever moves to do with the trick, but as I continued watching, the moves I thought about were taught. None of my ideas turned out to be new or original. You and David seem to have covered it all. I really do think your portal is an exceptionally clever idea.” - Steve Dusheck

Flicker – Michael Paul: New from the mind of Michael Paul comes Flicker! This is a magic first. A new concept; a new card magic plot.
With no moves or misdirection, an ungimmicked, red backed playing card flickers wildly from red to blue, and then back to red!
The DVD will explain the Flicker concept, and give you six routines to perform using Flicker, including a street magic masterpiece, a color changing deck, and a stunning three color change from red to blue, back to red, and finally to white!
The reviews are all in, and they are raves. Don't be left behind. Order and learn Flicker now. $30.00 (30.1427)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=1787&cat=0&page=1)

"I love it! Flicker looks and feels like real magic. A no move color-change. Sign me up!" -- Justin Miller

Mind Mysteries Guide Book Volume 5 – Richard Osterlind: In an unprecedented event, Richard Osterlind has revisited his hugely successful Mind Mysteries video series and is writing definitive guide books that exponentially enrich the material presented in it.
In this fifth guide book, Richard, after a two year hiatus, resumes his work on the analysis of the Mind Mysteries video series. The current volume continues his work on creations such as the Ultra Board, the Stainless Steel Blindfold, the Very Modern Mindreader and others. In addition to his insights on these classics, the bonus material includes:
* NASCAR Inside the Fold
* Swami Under the Nose
* Ultra Add-a-Number
* A Gem for the SOS Bag
* Final Two-Faced Epic Routine
Richard has taken his fifth Guide Book a step further. It is subtitled "Between the Lines" and is structured in a way similar to his best-selling book, Mystique. Within these pages, you will find important concepts, theories and other practical applications well suited for other mentalism routines as well as theatrical knowledge in general. There is a wealth of knowledge is these "sub thoughts" alone.
Exceeding the length of the last Guide Book by some 50 pages, Mind Mysteries Volume 5 contains some of Richard's most exciting creations and showcases his original thinking. This guide book will give you even greater insight as to what makes these effects so powerful and how you put that kind of power into your own act.
139 pages. Perfect Bound. $29.95 (BK01649)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=1629&cat=0&page=1)

Magic And Meaning Expanded – Eugene Burger and Robert Neale: In 1995, two celebrated philosophers of magic, Eugene Burger and Robert E. Neale, wrote a book that examined the psychological, symbolic and spiritual roots of theatrical conjuring. The result was a work brimming with new ideas that set readers' heads spinning and revealed a way of thinking about performing magic that is at the same time ancient and revolutionary.
For years this book has been out of print and much sought after. This new edition contains the original work in its entirety plus two added essays, one by each author, adding 34 pages in which they reflect and expand on the intended message of their writings.
Magic And Meaning Expanded is not a book for the timid or the unimaginative. It is a book with the purpose of opening new vistas for the performance and presentation of Real Magic! It explores how magic does and always has permeated our lives—how magic serves profound needs for humanity—and how theatrical conjuring, as a part of the magical tradition, is something far less trivial than the average conjurer realizes.
Here is a serious attempt to establish a philosophy of conjuring, one that motivates and vitalizes the performer of mysteries and his performances. Burger and Neale have distinct voices, which occasionally disagree, but they approach their topic from similar directions, ultimately arriving at a harmonious world-view of magic as both entertainment and something much more. Their views, opinions and arguments are genuinely revolutionary and insightful. They are also "inciteful"; that is, they are sure to raise heated debate in the conjuring community. Robert E. Neale seasons this philosophical brew with seven tricks. These tricks and their novel presentations are used to illustrate his method of instilling magic with meaning. Of them Dr. Neale writes, "They may be upsetting to some. They should be upsetting to all."
Many magicians, amateur and professional alike, perform blind, with little or no understanding of the powerful emotional and symbolic elements that lie inherent but generally unused in their work. Employing a wide range of disciplines—including literature, anthropology, philosophy, religion, myth and film—Eugene Burger and Robert E. Neale explore these important components that rest at the very soul of magic. 238 pages. Hardbound. $39.95 (BK00922)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=1702&cat=0&page=1)

Tivoliland 2 – Arthur Tivoli: In his new DVD, Arthur Tivoli presents the routines he actually performs in restaurants: 3 sets, 8 minutes each, with cards, laughs, coins, surprises, ropes, hearts, diamonds. And all this magic fits in his pockets and a small box.
Contents:
Set #1
Sponge ball routine - How to make friends with people who don’t know you and just want to eat without being bothered by a magician.
Diamond - A little ball of bread is transformed into a diamond.
Rising Card - Arthur shows you a very practical handling for this routine.
The Bill in the Pen Cap - The best and simplest way to make a signed bill disappear and reappear in the cap of your pen. It’s a killer.
Set #2
Silver Thread - All that you need to focus the attention of your spectators: fire and money.
Ring and Rope Routine - A great routine with a lot of new moves and subtleties.
Sushi - The stabbed card without any risk.
Set #3
Broken heart - A great trick to begin at a table with women
Russia - The history of the Russian people.
Simplex Card to Box - An ingenious move for a killer effect. A signed card disappears and reappears in a little ungimmicked box.
Two great bonus tricks: One to give your business card and the other to take people’s money
$32.00 (DVD01002)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=1665&cat=0&page=1)

And that’s this week’s Can You Believe How Clean The Garage Is? Hotlist! This week we have really selected the best of the best, just for you, our favorite customers. Take some time to check these out, and don’t forget to also check out the Online catalog at www.magicfact.com.
As always, I thank you for visiting with us either online at www.magicfact.com or live and in person at our more fun that a barrel full of magic tricks showroom at 102 North Street in Medford. Either way, we love the company.
Hank