Greetings from all of us here at Hank Lee’s Magic Factory. Welcome to weather in New England! Three days ago, it was 70 degrees and sunny. Then it got cold. Then it snowed. Then it got warm and the snow melted. Then it got cold and it snowed again. The snow turned to rain and then the power went out at home. Which leaves me here at the office writing this week’s email Newsletter. I usually write at home, where it’s quiet and I can wear my pajamas.
Last week I forgot to tell you about the Blink! Show at the Portsmouth Music Hall. It was by far one of the most fun evenings I can remember. Seven of us went to see the show. Bonnie, Aron, Lucas, Julia, Bonnie’s sister Daryll and Bonnie’s parents Helen and Jonah. The acts on the show were Chip Lowell, Jade, Christopher Hart and Joe Devlin. Quite a cast! The show moved at the speed of light. Including one fifteen minute intermission, it was a two and a half hour show. But, it felt like much shorter. You know, time flies when you’re having fun. As good as the acts were, the hit of the show was my mother in law, Helen. Joe Devlin picked her from the audience to assist. He didn’t know who she was, but, hey, how wrong can you go with a little old grey haired lady? At one point, he leaves the stage to “get another deck of cards.” He told Helen to just carry on without him. A normal person would be flummoxed and not know what to do. Not Helen. She started to dance. Then, the stripper music came on and she kept dancing. Luckily, Joe came back before she had removed any garments. The audience was roaring. Good thing she didn’t have a microphone or she might have told some of her famous, not for kids, jokes! I hope that when I’m 82, I have her spunk, and that’s the truth.
Tonight is the first night of Chanukah. I want to wish all of our Jewish friends a very Happy Holiday. I have to tell you that it is pretty weird not having the kids home for the holiday. I’ve tried to teach Bones The Dog to say the prayers over the candles, but he is much more interested in the Potato Latkes. Smart dog.
For those of you who keep track of such things, I just want to let you know that next Thursday is my birthday. It’s not a big birthday. That happens next year. The good thing about getting a little older is that if you send me an email or an e-card or give me a call next Thursday, I will be totally surprised that you remembered my birthday.
And that’s it for this week. I have rambled sufficiently. Now to this week’s excitement.
FREE SHIPPING: Our holiday gift to you! Until Thursday, the 24th of December at midnight, we are offering free ground shipping on any order over $30.00 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 24th! 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
(1) Revelation – Dean Dill: Someone draws a picture of any playing card and that actual card is found inside an envelope which has been in plain sight the entire time.
The freely thought of card is actually in the envelope and there is absolutely no switch.
They can think of any card from a deck of 52, including the Joker. There is no force.
They can change their mind, right up to the point where they sign the picture.
The "prediction" envelope is in plain sight before the effect begins.
The handling is super clean. There are no suspicious moves.
The card is seen inside the envelope right before it is poured directly in their hand.
Comes complete with 3-ring binder, note pad, marker, Revelation envelope, and 8 page, full color, photo-illustrated instruction booklet. $250.00 (30.1458)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=1583&cat=0&page=1)
(2) Sinful – Book & DVD - Wayne Houchin: A signed coin magically penetrates through a sealed can of soda or beer. The can is opened, the contents poured out and trapped inside is the initialed coin. The effect can be performed anywhere, at anytime with no special props, no switches, no gimmicks, and no setup. Both the coin and the can may be borrowed. In fact, the spectator can keep the can with their signed coin trapped inside.
From magician Wayne Houchin and graphic artist Josh Funk comes this striking new vision of the celebrated Quarter Through Soda Can routine that became one of the most talked about effects from the first season of Criss Angel: Mindfreak.
Not just an instruction manual, Sinful offers the reader the rare opportunity to peer into the creative process behind the routine.
Set in a fictional nightclub called Hendricks, the graphic novel opens with a stylized re-imagining of a live performance and then allows the reader the opportunity to learn the full routine from Houchin's personal notebook. This one of a kind learning experience offers a look at the evolutionary process of creating - exploring other moves, concepts and ideas that didn't make it into the final handling.
New ideas and alternative moves are discussed and taught in detail. Also included is a performance DVD that features live performances and an interview with Wayne Houchin conducted by Paul Harris.
For the magician interested in learning a truly powerful piece of organic magic and for the artist interested in the process of creating, not just copying.
• A unique look at Sinful (The Quarter Through Soda Can)
• Featuring artwork by Josh Funk
• Forward by Banachek
• Additional moves and handling
• Graphic Novel + performance DVD
$30.00 (DVD01080)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=1411&cat=0&page=1)
(3) Vivify – Mark Parker: Mark’s first book, Illusion Design, was a giant leap forward in magic publications. His new book, Vivify, raises the bar again!
Vivify contains ten original stage illusions fully described and illustrated in glorious full color. Also included are two thought provoking essays. Plus a foreword by Brett Daniels. Limited to 500 copies individually signed & numbered. Hardbound cover with foil stamping & embossing. $199.00 (BK01685)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=1096&cat=0&page=1)
(4) Versatile Tossed Out Deck – Eduardo Kozuch: The Versatile Tossed Out Deck is one of the best decks to present this incredible classic mind reading effect. A complete mind reading act in which up to 7 people can take part. It can be presented in 3 stages, with different presentation climaxes, and each stage can be changed according to the performer's choice.
1st Stage: Warming Up:
The deck is shown, and 2 spectators are asked to think of any cards they see. It is a warm-up activity so you are not expected to be perfect, yet you absolutely name the correct cards.
2nd Stage: Confirmation:
The deck is wrapped up with rubber bands and given to a spectator who peeks into it in order to choose a card. You name the color, suit and number of the card, not showing any doubts at all.
3rd Stage: The Full Monty:
Emboldened by your many correct guesses, you decide to perform the next try by reading 4 minds simultaneously. The deck is handed out to 4 spectators and each one chooses a card. You are able to name each card quickly and with 100% accuracy. Could a standing ovation be in your future?
You can show the deck and shuffle it.
Completely versatile; you can choose the quantity of cards and their location to perform different presentations with a different number of participants (from 1 to 7 or 8)
Very easy to do. The very special deck does all the work! Bicycle poker-size cards are used.
$50.00 (30.1461)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=1325&cat=0&page=1)
(5) Water Magic CROM – Jim Kleefeld: It’s here! Just in time to get a sump-start on next summer!
If you liked Bug Magic, you will love Jim Kleefeld’s new, Water Magic.
More than a book, it is a fabulous trick and show resource with:
Water Tricks & Routines
Water Bibliography
Water Jokes
Commercial Water Magic
Water Facts
120 pages of tricks and routines
100 jpeg art files
44 wet & bubbly fonts
Over 110 pages of great new tricks, ideas and routines, all about magic with water! Summer 2010 is the year for libraries all over the U.S. to present "Make a Splash—Read!" for their Summer Reading Clubs. Swimming pools, beach balls, surfboards and fish will be everywhere. Do you have a water-themed magic show ready? Get Jim's new e-book now and you will be all set for next summer with dozens of fish and swimming tricks.
A beach ball magically changes places with everything in its path!
A lady changes into a mermaid right before your eyes!
Real water vanishes and reappears in several different ways!
Magically catch any color fish the audience wants with your eyes closed!
Kids magically match toy fish to fish books without even looking!
Dozens of original tricks and routines about the beach, swimming, fishing, water conservation and more. Tons of useable, printable artwork to make tricks. Scores of routines for commercial water tricks with Jim's Tips and Suggestions for them all. Water Facts. Water Jokes. Water Bibliographies (not one, but two!) Enough magic to do literally hours and hours of performance. You can find or build several complete shows from this vast collection of tricks. This is Jim's largest book with more ideas than ever!
120 pages + 160 art files and fonts, all on one CD-ROM
$45.00 (BK01687)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=1373&cat=0&page=1)
(6) PENomenon Writer: A revolutionary new device that was invented and perfected for every-day situations. It gives the performer the ability to make visible live predictions appear on any surface: paper, wood, concrete-floor, glass, or mirrors and even on beer bottles and soda cans.
Use it for TV, on the streets, in trade-shows to promote products, or in live performances for audiences of 10 or 1000. Your predictions will always be clearly visible, even from a distance. You will never use other principles again!
Mentalist Lior Suchard, winner of the 1st "The New Uri Geller" TV show, together with magic-consultant, Shimon Nachmani, will lead you step-by-step through the amazing benefits of PENomenon Writer. All the easy moves, routines, and performances are thoroughly explained.
$70.00 (40.700)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=7243&cat=0&page=1)
(7) Dual Control Revisited – Michael Vincent: Alan Alan’s Dual Control gimmick has been synonymous with seemingly impromptu suspensions and close up animations for many years, but recently it has been overlooked by many performers. Until now!
Michael Vincent is back to bring you the most detailed look at this fabulous utility gimmick. After years of using and refining the technique and uses of the Dual Control gimmick, you can be sure that this is the definitive work on the subject.
Michael is joined once again by Chris Harding to not only show you exactly how to construct the gimmick and discuss its basic uses but to teach several high-calibre effects that will have you creating miracles with the Dual Control system.
Perform the classic magnetized cards with a regular, borrowed deck.
Learn the wonderful pencils suspension and Michael’s own personal opener, the spoon suspension.
You will also learn one of the greatest versions of the rising card ever! Michael shares the full method and presentation, along with all his tips and subtleties. This masterpiece is as powerful on stage as it is in close up and as a bonus on the DVD, you will get a rare opportunity to see Alan Alan performing the routine, live on stage at the world famous Magic Circle in London, England.
The package comes complete with everything needed to construct the Dual Control gimmick and includes the detailed instructional DVD that will take you step by step through the construction process, lots of tips and advice on using your Dual Control gimmick as well as full routines that you will be performing in no time! $24.50 (DVD01083)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=1190&cat=0&page=1)
(8) The Shark – DVD and Gimmick – Christopher Ballinger: Just below the surface of any deck... waiting to strike.
A card completely changes while trapped between two other cards. The change is visual, instant, angle-proof, and happens in plain sight. The card is instantly examinable and can even be signed.
The Shark uses a utility gimmick that will open up a sea of possibilities.
Instructional DVD Includes:
Standard Shark Routine - A card trapped between two others visually morphs into the spectator's selection.
Great White - Uses the Shark gimmick to turn an entire deck blank.
Megalodon Vanish - The perfect, visual ending to an ambitious card routine. The signed selection instantly vanishes and appears in the spectator's hand.
Dorsal Force - A new way to force a card which simultaneously vanishes the card from an examinable deck. The selection can be found at any location.
Hammerhead Change - A change that is so clean, it will take a few moments for your audience to realize it has happened.
Cage-Dive Change - A card changes in the spectator's hand without you touching it.
Megamouth Change - A flash change that starts clean and ends clean.
Bonus Material:
Quantum Flux - The original handlings for the Shark Gimmick where cards transpose in the spectator's hands.
The Shark is an undetectable gimmick that allows for visual changes without tricky sleight of hand or awkward gimmicks.
There's no palming, ditching, magnets, strings, pulls, bad angles, forcing or complicated sleights. Just strong, visual magic like your audience has never seen. $29.95 (30.1460)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=7296&cat=0&page=1)
(9) Published & Unpublished DVD - Meir Yedid: Meir demonstrates and teaches 14 of his original routines on this special DVD release created for his live lectures.
Meir has appeared on countless television shows around the world with his original magic. He was the first performer to win the Society Of American Magicians' Close-Up Competition twice and was named Magician Of The Year by the Society of American Magicians Parent Assembly. In 2003 he was the Guest of Honor at the prestigious Fechter’s Finger Flicking Frolic Convention.
This DVD features Meir with his startling, commercial effects, including eight that he is releasing for the first time. Meir also explains nearly a dozen original techniques and numerous sleights to provide all the work needed to make this material your own.
Routines demonstrated and explained:
Balls Point, Cardinal Cards, Direct Transpo, Fadeout, Follow The Riem, Lose It—Find It, No Palm (Almost) Card To Pocket, Progressive Bills, Quadruplic-Ace-Tion II, Rebalanced Business Card, Riem Assembly, Riem Rise, Walk-Around Triumph and Wild Card #2001.
Original techniques taught:
Baby Bottoms, Mate Switch-Out, Meir Mix, Riem Principle, Shirt Pocket Switch, Simple Mate Switch-Out, Slap Control, To-The-Table Switch, Yedid Alignment Variant and two ball steals.
Additional sleights taught within routines:
Double Turnover, Flustration Count, Hamman Count, Riffle Force, Spread Pass, Vernon Depth Illusion (Tilt), Vernon Strip-Out Addition and Zarrow Block Addition.
$35.00 (DVD01081)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9954&cat=0&page=1)
(10) Bicycle Color Collection: The perfect holiday gift! An elegant maxi-case enclosing 9 regular Bicycle poker size decks with 9 different colored backs, including 2 beautiful new backs: fuchsia and turquoise (not for sale individually).
Get all the colors of Bicycle Rider poker decks at an unbelievable price. Included in this case you will find 9 Bicycle decks and two professional close-up pads (1 black and 1 red).
• All the Bicycle colors available in one set
• The close-up pads included are standard size and professional. They are composed of two layers: non-slip rubber under, and soft fabric above.
$75.00 (30.1459)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=1099&cat=0&page=1)
(11) Cookie Surprise: Show a delicious cookie.
Ooh, it looks so yummy!
Take a bite and then, with a snap of your fingers, the cookie is restored, as if you never bit the cookie!
• Can be performed anywhere, anytime,
• Fun for street or party magic.
• Easy handling
• This is Yuki Tensei's original design & idea, and has been made by Kikuchi since 2006
$12.50 (10.1554)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8530&cat=0&page=1)
(12) Al Koran’s Legacy – Hugh Miller: This wonderful book is a completely new, revised, expanded and updated edition.
The book contains most of the original material, but virtually everything has been re-written and benefits from the skill of an expert editor. There is a host of additional material written by Lewis Ganson and previously published in the Routined Manipulation series published by Harry Stanley.
In previous editions of Al Koran's Legacy the instructions for Headline Prediction were hard to follow, but Graham Jolley persevered in working out the correct method for the effect. And that is probably why, up to now, he is one of the few to perform this baffling routine. Graham usually closes his act with this effect as it is so powerful. He has written it up showing exactly how it should be performed .
Lewis Ganson's Routined Manipulation series on Al Koran has also been included as a very special added bonus and this includes Al's Koran's Miracle Blindfold Card Act. It is one of the finest routines in this book. If you are not familiar with Al Koran you have a great journey ahead of you. He was an original thinker with a great creative mind and a consummate performer.
230 pages. Hardbound with Dustjacket. Photo-Illustrated $46.00 (BK01686)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9955&cat=0&page=1)
(13) SUM Deck: S.U.M. has nothing to do with math, the initials stand for Set Up Marked. It is the stacked, marked deck that needs no calculation or memorization whatsoever because the deck does all the work. You don't have to decipher esoteric markings to remember formulae, everything is literally spelled out for you.
• The deck appears to be in completely random order.
• There is absolutely no calculation or memorization required.
• Can also be used as a normal marked deck.
The instructional manual contains six effects and routines using the S.U.M. deck, although many more are possible and limited only to the imagination. $30.00 (30.757)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=1511&cat=0&page=1)
(14) An Evening With Jack – The Seattle Sessions Night 2 – Jack Carpenter: What would you want to see if you had just one more chance to join the session of a lifetime?
That's the question asked after the first Seattle Session, and the one thing everyone wanted was more. So here you are, the session continues on Night Two.
Carpenter & Company deliver exactly what you asked for, and more, including the real secret to undetectable false deals, two new passes, killer applications for familiar passes, a strip out shuffle that "changes the moment" and even a better ending to three card monte. In more detail:
The Passes: Night Two includes Tobias Pasha's new and invisible PS pass, demonstrated by Tobias and Will; Steve Dobson's work on the Le Paul spread pass and his own "Herrmann with a Twist"; and Steve Mahyew on the dribble pass, including his "Dubble Dribble" a two-card selection, return and revelation where the only move is the dribble pass. Finally, Jack adds his Open Turnover Pass, a new method for making the action of the Herrmann pass invisible, and Will Conine demonstrates a quick visual stunner using the Open Turnover Pass as a switch.
The Deals: Jack tips his work on the second deal, the punch deal, and the bottom deal, including a little-known secret that makes all your deals virtually undetectable. He performs and explains a stunning bridge deal from a truly shuffled deck, and as a capper, gets Steve Mayhew to perform the Mayhew Poker Deal, an easy-peasy demonstration of your ability to deal cards from any position in the deck.
The Magic:
Carpenter Fixes A Bent Corner: Here, Jack improves on the classic Three Card Monte sequence by asking the questions only a master asks.
Underhanded Aces: Jack's uniquely visual transposition of four Aces held by the spectator.
The Gilligan Trick v6.0: You can't session with Jack and not see his latest version of this great trick.
The Ambitious Card: Jack tips two weird and wonderful sequences for this classic, and then coaxes Tobias to perform his full routine, and then to reveal the thinking behind it.
And More: Interested in a full-deck false shuffle that will fool the experts? Jack's Delayed Stripout Shuffle is what you're looking for. And if that's not enough, there's still Jack's popout move, an exclusive interview with the man himself, outtakes, and the usual load of gags, bull, and insults. $35.00 (DVD01082)
(http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=9957&cat=0&page=1)
And that’s this week’s “Can You Believe How Much New Stuff Is Coming Out This Holiday Season” Hotlist. There’s just os much great new stuff, I can hardly believe it! I hope you find it wonderfully exciting!
As always, and especially in this busy Holiday Season, we truly appreciate your taking time out to visit us either online at www.magicfact.com or in person at 102 North Street in Medford. Either way, we love the company.
Hank
