Jun 29, 2008

The Invisible Palm

I've been trying to integrate this trick into my Ace Assembly routines. I was actually thinking if this could be a good finish to a routine.



I said that this is a good trick to go with an Ace assembly simply because it has the same effect of almost ace assembly which is transposition. It means that one object magically shifts from one location to another.

I know how this is done but I don't think I can do it yet. As a trick itself, I know that it has a strong effect but performing it requires a little preparation and I think that the sleights involve are actually not fit for me because I still lack the dexterity in performing such sleights.

If ever I could do this trick I'll post a video of me doing it immediately.

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Jun 25, 2008

Rubber Band Magic

I found these videos on youtube on rubber band magic

Here is from Chris Brown (no not the singer).



and here is from one of my favorites Jorge Blass.



As a kid I remember playing with rubber bands. Sometimes I would fashion a slingshot out of just a rubber band and a folded piece of paper. Also I always enjoy making a start and a double star and as I grew older I gave up playing with rubber bands. I just started playing with them again when I started doing magic.

In my opinion rubber band magic is almost the same as rope magic. The only thing is that rubber bands are elastic and unlike ropes that has ends rubber bands have no ends because they are in loops.

A nice thing about rubber bands too is that they are found almost anywhere and if you are looking for an impromptu magic, I'd say that rubber bands are actually good props for such.

One disadvantage though is the limited tricks that could be done with a rubber band. Although there are a lot of tricks that uses rubber bands they are not as flexible as other props say cards or coins. A lot of these tricks too are mostly on the effect of penetration.

Well although rubber bands have that disadvantage they still amaze people. Thanks to the magician's creative mind and imagination. Because of these two things a very simple loop of elastic rubber becomes a piece of mystery, magic and awe.

Jun 24, 2008

Practical Jokes and Magic

I'm sure you're all familiar with practical joke shows and just recently there had been new shows with the same theme but this time it has a unique twist and that is- Magic. Yes these shows use magic to play pranks on people and of course we don't just get a good laugh we also get a good serving of mystery. Also what I love about these shows is that they were able to give a relatively weak magic on TV a new look to appeal to audiences.


Here is a clip from a TV show titled THEM (Totally Hidden Extreme Magic)



Of course here's one from one of my favorite magic shows (sorry for the bias I just like European Magicians more than American ones also my Spanish gets better whenever I watch this) Nada X Aqui



Here's one from the now defunct TV series NAKS (Nakakabilib at kakaibang show)



What I really like about these shows is that they were able to revive Magic on TV. Apparently magic on TV has less appeal because of the special effects that are being used are readily available in TV shows. Because of these shows too, we see more new and better magic and that helps specially nowadays that there are a lot of readily available sources that reveals magicians' secrets.

I just hope that more show like these would be aired so that I could get away from all the remakes in prime time.

Jun 23, 2008

The Best (joke) Magicians

No I'm not talking about comedy magicians. I'm talking about those who make magic (although quite insulting) into a farce. Oh well honestly I enjoyed their shows.

Here's David Criss (Michael V.) a spoof of Criss Angel and David Blaine.



Here is another spoof of David Blaine: Dan Michael Master Magician (Ramon Bautista)



Here is a french guy maybe he is doing a spoof of David Blaine too



Again another one



Well I would say that they are really not insulting magic at all. I find the mask magician more insulting than these guys. At least these guys present their own tricks in a funny manner. Also because of them magic gains more popularity and more are actually rediscovering it (although I disagree to the fact that magic has become too mainstream already). Well although they make fun of magic, I don't really mind that much because I'll just give a good laugh and say to myself sure magic is still alive.

Jun 22, 2008

The Miser's Dream

Apparently one of the most appealing illusions of all time. Simply because this trick plays on one basic human need: Financial Stability. No doubt that this trick is one of the best creations in magic.

Here is a video of that trick done for a 1939 TV series



Also you might want to read this beautiful article about the Miser's Dream

The Miser's Dream

Right now I'm still perfecting my own version of the miser's dream. Also I'm still looking for some coins that are suitable for this routine. Apparently I have small hands and the coins in this country are really not that suitable for that trick. Hopefully I could add my own video of my Miser's Dream.


Jun 19, 2008

Going Professional

I have been thinking about this quite recently. I want to become a professional magician so that I could earn extra money at the same time hone my craft. Well I stumbled into this article that gives advice on how to become a professional magician.

Earn Money by Going Professional

This article is really a big help specially to those who are still planning on going professional. It gave me a better insight on what being a professional magician meant. Also it inspired me to do magic not simply for the money but for the love of it.

Well here is a video on youtube showing OJ Simpson doing magic.




Honestly I think he did a good job but tell me your opinions otherwise.

Jun 18, 2008

If you want to be a magician read this

Here is an interesting article for beginners who want to start on magic:


The tools of a starting magician


This is basically what beginning magicians need also check out this link for supplies

Magic Suppliers in the Philippines

Jun 16, 2008

Revealing a Selected Card

There are actually a lot of ways to reveal a certain chosen card. There might be hundreds of different ways to reveal a certain card but surely magicians are after for the reaction of his audience.

Some would require a certain prop like this one called wow masuda



Some would even do it in the most unconventional places



Some prefer it to be creepy



Whatever way a card is revealed, what matters is that the magician amazes his audience

The Hotshot Cut

A very nice way to reveal a selected card

Jun 15, 2008

Magic Shop- Finally

My girlfriend and I were wandering around the malls in North Edsa last Saturday to have a break from all the stress that we have been receiving from work the past week. We went to SM North and looked for a kiosk: "It's Magic", a magic shop that caters not only to beginner magicians but also to professional ones.

It might be quite confusing if you try to find the shop because it is located near the cinema. Well although SM North's cinemas are on the same floor, they are divided in two sections and each section is located at opposite ends of the mall. The two cinemas' lobbies also look the same that's why it's confusing if you try to find a shop that is near the cinemas.

It is a small kiosk and there is a magician that regularly performs or demonstrates the products that they sell. I was actually looking for a close up mat and sponge balls and to my surprise the prices were really high. Compared to the prices in online shops the products there are really very expensive.

Online shops actually sell much cheaper products if I convert them to our local currency. An example of this is the close up mat which is on the average around $10. Well it depends on the size but I think the one that they are selling in that shop measures around 12"x17" Well I'm not sure though about the size but imagine if on the internet that cost around $10 here the price is doubled or sometimes even tripled. Another is the sponge ball well online you could buy for a bag of 10 sponge balls at the average of $0.50 per ball depending on the size. Here one ball, depending from whom you will buy would be about the prize of four or eight balls on an online shop .

I really can't imagine how expensive are the stuff that they have until I noticed a very small cups and balls set. I asked the shop attendant why is that set very small. He just replied "Well you don't really pay for the apparatus you pay for its secret". I was quite disappointed when I heard that because some magicians like me might only require the apparatus itself not it's secret because they already know it.

Well I just thought to myself that it's a business and in order for a business to earn revenue it must offer something more to a customer. In this case it's the trick and it's secret that is being sold as a package. Also for me it's the concept of added value wherein an object becomes more expensive if it undergoes a process rather than buying it just the way it is. Basically it's the same with their stuff wherein they add its secret therefore becoming more expensive.

Maybe another thing is that there aren't any local manufacturer's of magician's stuff here. All must be imported from somewhere else and I think it's what makes it expensive. If only we could remove our colonial mentality that imported stuff are better and start learning how we could make the same stuff locally we might be able to make stuff like this available at least to starting magicians.

Well I'm just hoping that someday they will have a 50% off sale so that I could buy a lot of stuff from the shop. Better yet if they could sell some apparatus without the secret for a much lower price.

For more info on magic supplies here you may read this article

Magic suppliers in the Philippines


Jun 12, 2008

The Cups and Balls

A very entertaining version of the classic Cups and Balls

This one is from Tommy Wonder



and this one is a version of Dai Vernon by John Mendoza





Well this is the first trick that I've truly learned and mastered. Maybe not as good as them but definitely better than those tutorials in youtube by some guys. Anyway my version is much simpler: three balls and three cups. I start it off with cups penetrating each other then first ball under the first cup and so on then all three balls are under the second cup. Then the balls penetrate the cup and so on. Then I use two balls three cups and show how the balls transport from one cup to the other. Then one cup three balls, shows them how each ball penetrate the cup. Then I use only three balls and no cups. I place one ball in my pocket and two in the hand to show how one ball travels from my pocket to the other. Then for the finale I take all three balls placed them under the stacked cup where they change into one large ball.

Quite simple isn't it. If you want to learn the trick how it's done just click the links under "Magic Tutorials" at the sidebar and there you will learn exactly how it's done. Or if you want just click "About" on the "All About Magic" section and I'll teach you the trick personally and for FREE.


Jun 11, 2008

Lessons from Kung Fu Panda

Warning may contain spoilers below.


It tells how Po the panda began his quest to become the dragon warrior that saved the valley of peace from the evil Tai Lung the snow leopard. Legend has it that whoever had the dragon scroll would become the most powerful warrior ever.
I saw this movie last week and it was so hilarious that I think the audience's jaws would have dropped. The scenes were really very funny thanks to the witty humor of Po mixed with the contrasting characteristics of Master Shifu. Anyway you should really watch the fil to get the feel of what I'm talking about.
Back to the topic, Kung Fu Panda has a lot of lessons that we could learn and apply to our lives or in my case as a magician. With this I would like to share two important lessons that I've learned from the movie.

1. "There is no price for awesomeness"

This holds true to us magicians, simply because it's what we do. We make seemingly ordinary objects awesome to our audiences. The tricks that we do and the applause from the audience after the trick is really most rewarding and can't be paid with whatever price. So to sum it up no matter how simple the trick that you do so long as you get your audience's appreciation and awe are enough to make a magician make more thing awesome.

2. "There is no secret ingredient... I just believe that it's special"

This is what most magician's forget: to believe in their own tricks. Most beginning magicians are very much into the technical aspects of the trick that they forget that in order for the trick to become most effective they should believe first the trick. I clearly remember this when a foreign magician visited the Philippines around a few years ago. His tricks were actually handled with precise techniques but apparently it became too technical that it became so boring. Even in his patter he follows his script so much that it became really boring. Anyway let's forget about him and let's just remember that in order for magic to work one must first believe in what he could do. In that way no matter how simple the trick is it would be the best one that they'll ever see.

Remember to visit these sites to learn real magic

Marvelous Magic

Also you could visit this site : Learning Magic however it's for members only. You may join absolutely for FREE just click the tag "Join" found at the side bar and follow the instructions.




Insights on "The Matrix" Trick

I remember doing a version of the Matrix called the "chink-chink" by Malini. I learned it from a certain book by an English Magician who used sugar cubes just like in the original act. In the book it says that the "chink-chink" is also known as the matrix.
I was successful at first using dies as substitute for sugar cubes which is quite rare in this country because sugar is always in powdered form. Fortunately the effect worked whenever I performed it usually my routine would consist of the "chink-chink" followed by "three in a pocket". Apparently I was doing good even though it only consisted of traveling dies from one card to the other then from one hand to the other then from my pocket back to the table and then the die would change color (right now I'm working on changing its size after it travels to my pocket).
I thought that I was doing good until I saw the matrix being done with cards and coins. It had a lot of appeal to me because as we all know cards and coins are more portable than dies. Also my first love really in magic was card tricks.
I tried to do the matrix with coins using the similar method with dies. Apparently it was very hard to do because, simply coins are flat. Also coins tend to talk to each other whenever I use that method.
Then suddenly I saw this video on youtube featuring French Magician Arnaud Chevrier and his Matrix routine.



Also I saw this very nice video of Little Chubster from the Philippines performing a medley of the matrix.



These two videos actually gave me an idea that the method for "chink-chink" is very different for the coin matrix. Although some would argue with that, I found this new method more effective and fool proof than the previous method that I use.

Right now I'm still perfecting my routine and hopefully I could post a video of it too. Don't forget to check my other blog where you could learn great magic tricks. Just follow the link http://marvelous-magic.blogdrive.com and the details in the site and surely you'll be on your way to becoming a magician. Also try the links at the sidebar under "Magic tutorials"

Remember to visit these sites to learn real magic

Marvelous Magic

To learn this trick you could visit this site : Learning Magic however it's for members only. You may join absolutely for FREE just click the tag "Join" found at the side bar and follow the instructions.






Jun 10, 2008

Double Fantasy

Combines the artist's dream, levitation and quick-change. one of the best routines ever.



Remember to visit these sites to learn real magic

Marvelous Magic

Also you could visit this site : Learning Magic however it's for members only. You may join absolutely for FREE just click the tag "Join" found at the side bar and follow the instructions.

From a Female Magician

zigzag lady meets woman sawed in half



Filipino pride

The Boss performing a classic

Jason Latimer and the Glass Cups and Balls

Jason Latimer performing the classic trick with a mind-boggling twist.

Champagne by Vallarino

Champagne routine by French Magician Jean-Pierre Vallarino

Ninja Rings

Shoot Ogawa performing the fantastic Ninja Rings

He read your mind

A cool mind-reading trick just follow whatever he says.

A Great Magic Trick

Watch this amazing video of a Spanish magician.

About Me and Marvelous Magic

Hello to all readers of this blog,

My name is Jordan and I have been practicing magic though not professionally since I was ten years old. I could say that I've learned a lot of tricks but not enough because there are new tricks that are always added.

While I was studying European languages major in French at University of the Philippines Diliman, I used to perform street style magic to my classmates. Usually I would do this while waiting for our professor or even sometimes just for fun I'll do it in front of the professor myself.

During those four years in college, I had already performed quite a number of times. I performed in my French classes when I was in my first year and through that I had somewhat gained my identity as the magician of the batch.

Right now I'm still continuing my magic, improving more of my craft and hopefully someday I would become a champion in the FISM.

Here you'll find my personal thoughts and experiences on magic. There are also videos here of some fabulous magic tricks by me and by famous magicians. Also I would like this place to become a place for magicians to exchange ideas.

If you want to learn magic you could visit my other blog:

Learn Classic Tricks


These sites are for serious magician's only. If you want to access these sites just follow the instructions on the site.

So go and check out the stuff here and please don't forget to comment about the site.

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