In the big news in Magic department, we are told that Paul Harris’ long awaited, long anticipated Little Man is finally beginning to ship. So, if you have one on back order, and those of you who do have exhibited the patience of Job, you will have yours soon! Yeah!
This week, I have a topic. Lucky you. My topic is the Cape Cod Magic Conclave, and magic conventions in general. Back in the day, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, the best place to see live magic performed and learn from the pros was at a magic convention. As a kid, I would save my pennies all year for the opportunity to attend the Boston Magicale. I saw some of the greats of magic at those conventions. Don Alan, Terry Seabrooke, Frank Garcia, Anverdi and so many more. I went to all the lectures and I learned a lot. Plus, the Dealers’ Room was a great place to see all the new magic, and hang out.
Now, the times are different. You can do it all on the Internet. You can watch YouTube videos of just about every act. You can see all the new magic every week right here in our Hotlist. You can see the new tricks demo’ed by the guys who invented them. You can chat with your magic buddies online. And, you can do it all in your pajamas without ever leaving your house.
Is this a bad thing? No, of course not. But, it is not the only thing. In the end, you watch a 2” x 3” video, in glorious 2D. It’s just not the same as watching it live, and discussing it live with your buddies.
Call me a dinosaur, but I cannot imagine a better magical experience than attending a magic convention. Live talent. Live lectures. Live card tricks in the lobby until the wee houses of the morning. If you have never been to a magic convention, sign up for one. You will be pleasantly surprised. And, if you have never been to a Cape Cod Conclave, I sincerely hope that you will register this year. Of course, you can do it online at www.magicfact.com, or you can call us at 800 874 7400 and do it by phone.
I look forward to seeing you there!
BUY MORE GET MORE: Starting right now and running through Thursday, February 3rd at midnight, we are having a Buy More Get More event. Here is how it works. For each order you place during the event, you will get a Promotional Gift Certificate which you can use towards any future purchase here at Hank Lee’s. The value of the coupon depends entirely on the size of your order. Here is the breakdown:
• Order between $25.00 and $100.00: Coupon is for 15% of the merchandise total. (Orders less than $25.00 get our sincere thanks, but sadly no coupon)
• Order between $100.00 and $300.00: Coupon is for 20% of the merchandise total.
• Order over $300.00: Coupon is for 25% of the merchandise total.
When you place your order online at www.magicfact.com, please put the secret phrase BUY MORE GET MORE in the Customer Notes Box of the online checkout. If you place your order by email or FAX, just include the secret phrase with your order. And, if you place your order by phone, toll free at 800 874 7400, please mention the secret phrase to get your coupon. The coupon will be sent along with your order and can be used whenever you wish, no expiration date. You will get a coupon for every order you place during the event. Just don’t lose the coupons, please. The Buy More Get More event includes every item we carry!
(1) Tearify – Nathan Kranzo: The classic Newspaper Test stripped down to its bare essentials. Done with no gaffs, gimmicks or extras. No math, no thinking other than presentation.
A page freely chosen from a newspaper is torn into dozens of pieces. One piece is selected. One word is thought of on either side of the piece of paper.
You then slowly reveal their thoughts with 100% accuracy. Or for those “Too Perfect Theory” guys, 85% accuracy if you'd like. It is under you complete control.
On this DVD, Nathan Kranzo will take you through the history of the Newspaper Test starting with work from over 100 years ago to present date.
You see Nathan perform the effect at a theater for real people. You will learn his incredibly simple method that has fooled many.
You need no extra papers or any gimmicks at all. You can be handed any paper and perform it naked.
Nothing added, nothing taken away. A blockbuster, classic effect. Strong mentalism made simple.
Bonus Effect
For the first time Kranzo teaches the Leech Newspaper/Magazine Test.
This impromptu test destroys people and you'll want to perform it for the rest of your life.
$25.00 (40.774)
(2) Epic Pad – Marc Oberon: It’s time to make your performance epic!
At last someone has taken what is an incredibly impactful effect and brought it right up to date!
The Mental Epic effect for the 21st century!
Natural and organic looking.
An incredible three way prediction.
Easy to perform.
Great for stand-up, stage, parlor or cabaret
Marc Oberon's Epic Pad looks totally innocent yet works like a standard Mental Epic board. Mental Epic is still used today by many of the world's top magicians and mentalists. Unfortunately many magicians think the old version is a little old fashioned with its wooden and chalkboard construction.
On the instructional DVD Marc teaches you step by step how to make your own Epic Pad. The Epic Pad is easy to make and once you are set up, you will be able to use the same board for hundreds of performances. The Epic Pad can be made in various sizes. So you can even use it for close up work!
Comes complete with full instructional DVD and special something.
$39.95 (40.773)
These 9 effects can be carried with you all the time so that you're ready all the time to perform something extraordinary.
VGH(a+b) = (a) : A selected card visually jumps from the deck to your hands, ending in between the spectators hands! (b) An in hands and extremely visual version of Paul Harris' grasshopper effect.
PEN IN BOTTLE : A pen visually jumps inside a full bottle of water.
TRANSPORT : You hold a cell phone and the spectator holds a cell phone. A rubber band is wrapped around the cell phone in your hand. The band visually vanishes from the phone in your hands and reappears on the phone they have been holding the entire time!
=(bonus) = A borrowed ring instantly links onto a few rubber bands worn on your wrist then it melts off just as impossibly.
SUSPENDED : You hang one band on another. Then in an instant half of the supporting band vanishes for just a moment leaving the band hanging in the air! Pure visual goodness!
LOADED(1.0) : If you perform card under box, you will love this powerful routine!
LOADED(2.0) : A card to hat with a kicker ending that will blow your audience away!
FRICTION : An insanely visual rubber band thru bill routine! Impromptu and easy to learn.
SUGAR FREE : A piece of gum visually jumps from the pack to your mouth, instantly!
TRANSIT : An ordinary rubber band is wrapped around your finger and visually jumps from finger to finger. Calen is back with two new handling on this super visual effect.
$39.95 (DVD01229)
(4) Anything Is Possible Bottle: We will be receiving a limited amount of Anything Is Possible bottle by Jamie Grant. These are all hand made by Jamie! They are highly collectable and have been featured in Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
"When I first made the "Anything Is Possible" bottle, I honestly had no idea how well it would be received. I wanted to make a piece of art that would inspire people every time they looked at it- something that was three-dimensional and that could be placed on a desk, shelf, or table and bring wonder into people's home or office.
Having zero artistic talent, however, I focused on what I know and love - magic. Via a series of events that will never be replicated in my lifetime I'm sure, I stumbled upon a way of getting a sealed deck of cards inside a milk bottle, without altering the glass whatsoever. And, with that, the Anything Is Possible bottle was born.
It takes me hours to make each one and I wanted people, who received one as a gift, to know that the giver had spent some time, thought, and money on them.
But, I got into Ripley's Believe It Or Not. And celebrities started buying them. People whose names I recognized started buying them. Astronauts, actors, doctors, magicians, friends, magazines, art dealers, etc. Everyone seems to want an Anything Is Possible bottle. I became the luckiest person in the world. I can't thank you all enough. Ever." – Jamie D. Grant
$100.00 (70.1011)
(5) Incandescence – Chris Philpott: The effect is beautifully simple and straightforward. A spectator opens a book of love poetry, chooses a page, thinks of a word and you read their mind. It's as simple and spellbinding as that. Incandescence is easy to perform, yet rich in performance possibilities
The book is a highly intricate assemblage of gimmicks (up to 12 phases!) It looks just like a book of poetry - complete with table of contents, index, a forward by the editor, and editor's notes sprinkled throughout. It really stands up to close scrutiny. And, there are no dice to roll or cards to choose - at every stage the spectator has a real choice. It also gives you enormous flexibility in performing for repeat clients or at trade shows where there might be people lingering to watch the effect over and over. It's also great to perform for couples out on a date. $39.95 (40.772)
"Chris sent me a review copy of his new book test, Incandescence. I like book tests and this one is a great one! Chris took the time to really make this right. You can weave a lot of emotion into your presentation because of the design of the effect. I recommend this highly!"
- Richard Osterlind
"Incandescence is a beautiful, thoughtfully constructed effect. This being a book of love poetry, there are so many possibilities for the performer. The performance tips at the end of the manual are also very valuable words. Any mentalist who takes them to heart will benefit greatly!" - Angela Funovits
"Want to add some romance to your act? How about your personal life? If you answer "yes" to either one of these, then you need to buy this book test!" Kevin Curtin - Inventor of "Devil's Pitcher" and "Devil's Cola Bottle""Incandescence is a very impressive effort by writer/director/performer Chris Philpott. He has cleverly taken the premise of the book test and applied it to a genre of book (love poems) that contains inherent emotional meaning for the audience." Thomas Baxter - Mentalist and Author
(6) Close-Up Hallucinations – Meir Yedid: Meir Yedid was the first person to win the Society Of American Magician’s Close-Up Magic Championship more than once. He was also awarded the Society’s rarely presented Originality Medal. Meir has spent the last 30 years touring throughout the world performing and teaching his brand of creative magic.This book features some of Meir's offbeat magic with coins, cards, sponges, cereal and fingers. As an added bonus the book includes additional routines by Gene Maze and Joe Safuto. All of these routines are visual and memorable.
Highlights Include:
Hallucination: A beautiful coin routine Meir used to open all of his close-up shows. Done to music, three coins appear out of thin air and just as mysteriously vanish into a hole that is later visually healed shut.
Ribit-Rabbit: Using new sponge ball techniques, three sponges jump from hand to hand and then morph into a sponge rabbit.
Disengaged Digit: Your index finger vanishes under impossible conditions.
Card Flakes: A quirky routine where a corn flakes box changes into a card case. The card case is full of corn flakes. You eat some of the corn flakes, begin to choke and spit out an entire deck of cards.
Gene Maze’s Box Top: A memorable card routine where the cards are shuffled through a card case and when the card case is opened it contains the signed selection.
Joe Safuto’s Porous Potholder: Often used as a closer, this beautifully constructed routine has four cards pass through a potholder one at a time and concludes with two surprise productions.
Also taught are all of the techniques used within the routines. Original techniques include: Almost Perfect Vanish, Half-Fist Sponge Steal, Tabled One-Hand Vanish, and much more. Written by George Schindler and illustrated by Fred Kraus.
70-pages, 65-illustrations, 6x9" paperback, perfect bound with color cover.
$14.95 (BK01756)
(7) The Corner DVD Set –G. and SM Productionz:
Visual effects are rare. Visual and impromptu effects are hard to come by. From the mind of V2F, WI, and Imagine, G. offers thirty-two visual and impromptu effects in a limited release two disc set.
This is a very limited charity release set. The proceeds will go to a children's hospital to help the kids in need. There will only be one run of this set. Once they are out, that’s it! (There are only 500 units for worldwide distribution)
This is your chance to peek into G.'s private arsenal. Equip yourself with more than 30 effects with everyday objects you can borrow and perform in unprepared moments. Modern visual magic. Be ready to be inspired by G.'s outside of the box thinking. From easy to do effects to hardcore sleight of hand, a solid variety for all performers.
Get it now while you can.
$49.95 (DVD01230)
(8) Anate - Dee Christopher:
Dee Christopher’s Anate is a psychological technique.
Imagine placing one card on the table, face down.
The spectator decides on a card, they turn over the card to reveal a perfect match. The place explodes.
Imagine holding your wallet in full view and asking a spectator to name a card. The card is then instantly pulled from your wallet.
Imagine something that you can carry with you always, to create impossible, unbelievable prop-free demonstrations with boundaries as limitless as you imagination.
This is Anate.
No indexing, no gimmicks, no stacks, no nothing.
All you need is a single playing card, or a maximum of four cards in your wallet or maybe a post-it note to write a prediction.
This book is full of routines, techniques and outs for use with the Anate concept. With the correct study and performance you will blow people's minds
48 pages. $35.00 (BK01755)
"Dee Christopher is of a new breed of mentalists who transcend contrivance and hack the human brain itself to create deception." - Andrew Mayne
"I have worked for years to be able to place a single card face down on a table and have the spectator name it and never hit the nail on the head. Dee took a sledge hammer and forced the nail right through the wood with this one. This is the most stunning mental effect I do!" - Alan Rorrison
And that’s this week’s I Hope We Don’t Get Too Much More Snow Because There’s No Place To Put It Hotlist. Hot magic for a cold day!As always, I want to personally thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to spend some with us.
Whether you visit us online at www.magicfact.com or at our nicely shoveled showroom at 102 North Street in Medford, we do love the company!
Hank
