Convincers for Suspcious Skeptics?

A convincer is a very powerful tool when deployed at the right time. Exactly as the name suggests, it is a move that is used to 'prove' or convince the audience that you did what you said. It is handled in an almost offhand, accidental manner and as such dispels the suspicions of even the most tenacious of audiences. It's strength lies in the disarming demeanor in its execution. This leaves little room for any suspicions and reinforces the actions of the performer.

These are trying times for magicians as we continue to struggle between education and exposure of magic. The line is truly fine - how does one justify oneself in either case? I'm not here to debate that issue, but it has seen the rise of a crowd of people who have become more savvy and wise to the art. One of the fundamental moves that have been under close scrutiny and under fire has been the ever venerable double lift. It's like an open secret now to laymen. A few of my magician friends have even gone so far as to swear off any effects that require its use, citing examples of how they have been called on its use by the ever 'witty' teenage upstart with a chip on his shoulder: closet magicians who are better at ruining tricks simply by existing than actually performing them. I can empathise with them - it's a tough crowd out there.

However, that simply means that we need to refine the methods and tools of our trade. We have to find ways and means to combat that ever increasing 'educated' crowd; being upset over it does nothing to solve the problem. Education works both ways - I believe while the crowd out there is being educated on how magic is done, we too, need to continue to further our education that differentiate the initiate from the master. Depth and breadth of knowledge are both equally important. We shouldn't discard a tool simply because it's weakness is exposure especially since it is a staple tool of the trade. We can deploy them in the best way possible through the understanding of the psychology of human behaviour and refinement of our own methods and skills.

I've found that convincers are especially effective in placating skeptical/semi-educated (in magic) audiences. By the time they realise that the move could have been used, they are too far gone to backtrack to it absolutely. Convincers allow us to put distance - either physical or temporal - between the method and the effect (read Designing Miracles by Darwin Ortiz if you have no idea what I'm talking about there... believe me it'll be the best $80 you spent in your magic career!). This makes for very strong magic indeed. ;P

The double lift convincer I've shared is one that has worked great for me, but you do need to be able to perform a pushoff double.

It is available at: http://www.cardshark.sg

Adventist Home for the Elderly - 21 Feb 2010

A group of volunteers from a local law firm took it upon themselves to bring some Lunar New Year festive joy to the elderly at the Adventist Home (Kim Keat Avenue). They wanted a volunteer magician to help as the collections they took up would go entirely to Adventist Home, so I figured I’d ‘volunteer’ a few students to help them out.

Alistair and Timothy were more than generous with their time and effort – as always. They agreed to help without a moments’ hesitation when they heard about the event. Initially I was concerned that this period of time was quite tough for them to make such commitments – being the Lunar New Year and all – but they were really gracious and even skipped some Sunday classes at Church to be a part of this event.

 

You can see to the left Allie wowing the crowd with his ropes.

 

 

 

Timothy making a huge impression in the picture!

 

 

 

Also joining us for the first time, a few new faces – young urchins so fresh they almost reek of milk. :) Linus, Jon, Trevor and Chee Wan really held themselves well despite their inexperience.

In the picture, you see Chee Wan (LEFT) and Jon (RIGHT) both in white and wearing ties working the crowd.

 

 

 

Linus strutting his stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

Trevor (wearing the tie) amusing the audience with his dazzling personality.

 

 

 

For a first time out, I’d say they did a great job!

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VACATION TIME! :D YEAH!

Well, I’ll be away from the 19 to the 27 of December for a break to Jakarta, Indonesia. I’ll take care of any backorders and updates when I get home, so do bear with me.

Meantime, I hope to meet up with some of the magicians over in Jakarta; Pambudi has already very generously invited me to lunch at his home. I’m sure we’ll have a great time. :)

Until I get home, cheers!

Away...

I'll be away for a week or so and will get back to my web updates when I return!

Tony Hassini in Singapore – 2 October 2009

Tony came to Singapore this October to present the duo of JC Sum and Ning “MagicBabe” the coveted Merlin awards by the International Magicians’ Society (IMS). Tony is the founder of the IMS and the World president/CEO. He has established himself as one of the biggest names of Magic in the world.

It was indeed an honour and a privilege for Singapore to have such an illustrious and famous magician visit us; and even more so to have two new awardees of the prestigious Merlin award. Surely JC and Ning have put us on the world map with their accomplishments!

It was with great anticipation that I made my way to meet one of the icons of magic on 2 Oct. It was a Monday and I could only make it after my work: I was really exhausted, but the adrenaline in my blood kept my feet moving.

Bob Chua has had a long standing relationship with Tony over the years via email correspondence even though they had never formally met. Incidentally, Bob was also the very first (and only until recently) Merlin Award recipient in Singapore. Bob is also the current President of the IMS Chapter in Singapore. Hence, it was also Bob who caught up with Tony first when he arrived in Singapore.

I found Tony with Bob and Gordon that afternoon filming the sights of Orchard Road in Singapore. He was more than a pleasant fellow and has a highly evolved sense of humour. Tony was a fun-loving and humble guy in spite of his international success as both a film maker and a magician.

We had a great time that day – between sharing meals and the occasional beer, we shared stories about almost everything – from magic to girls (not babes). He even shared with us his theories on the shelf-lives of males versus females. It was truly a rib-wreaking experience for all of our funny bones.

Just a beer (or two; no three) for the road…

I’m really happy for JC and Ning in their success. I think it’s a huge milestone in Singapore Magic and the two of them have done a great deal to put Singapore on the world map in magic. In JC’s blog, he wrote that he helped to ‘pave the way’ for future magicians in bringing Tony to Singapore. I agree with him; though I’m sure not in the way he might have meant.

SPH Workshop 11-September-09 Report

The workshop at Singapore Press Holdings was a huge success. Many thanks go out to the people who made this such an event to remember for the participants - most of them students from the various secondary schools in Singapore. There were a few parents in the crowd as well and they were equally enthralled!

Enrico Varella gave a fantastic presentation and opened the workshop with a bang! He presented a brief history of magic and shared many of his personal life anecdotes with the eager participants. His performance of the Professor's Nightmare was masterful, as was his 'Hanging Coins'.

Bob Chua adopted a more informal approach and entertained questions from the audience about his life as a professional magician. He also gave an impressive performance as he wowed the crowd with his sleight of hand skills during the break.

The student leaders (from St Joseph's Institution, Raffles Junior College and Xin Min Secondary school) chosen to run the workshop each performed a couple of effects on stage - all of them were nothing shy of Aces. It was truly humbling for me: it was almost a fleeting glimpse into the future as I watched the next generation of up and coming magicians at their best. Some of them made mistakes owing to the tremendous pressure and stress (for most, it was the first time that they had to perform under such conditions), but their quick thinking allowed them to extricate themselves out of the unexpected trouble. All carried themselves very well - with dignity and respect for the art and their audience.

Many thanks to SPH for giving us a chance to be a part of this amazing event - I hope we have in our own minor way contributed to the future of magic in this little corner of the world.

  
Enrico Varella and Bob Chua

 
Father and son team

 
Students enmasse

Se-ED Project - 1 Aug 09

Braving the humidity and heat magicians of the Singapore Magic Circle took to the streets of The Singapore Management University to help promote an event encouraging youths to take on Social Enterprise for Charity.

The event started at 3:30pm where the first shift of magicians – comprising mostly of the youngest group – took up arms (in the form of cards and close-up tables) and hit the crowd. They were later joined by the people in the second and third shifts which saw everyone exhausted at the end of the day, winding down just shy of 7pm.

I must say that I was very impressed by the commitment level put in by everyone. They worked hard and almost everyone turned up earlier than their scheduled time, making it a really easy event to manage (particularly on my side… :P).

Though the crowd was not as dense as I had anticipated (due to some programme changes in the organisation), our guys did their best to draw a crowd and entertain the attendees. It was an easy and smooth event; our guys were superb – check out the photos: I’ve posted them on a new SMC facebook account I created to make posting material easy.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000149501420&ref=name#/album.php?aid=946&id=100000149501420

You can also view the photos here:

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Second Thoughts Workshop 20 June 09

@ Ulu Pandan CC

In planning for this workshop, I had a few reservations about the crowd I was reaching out to. Right from the beginning, I had always wanted to keep such material in the hands of responsible and serious magicians who would not only respect the material, but also do it justice through fastidious practice and attention to detail.

Then there was the issue of those who had purchased the DVD and those who hadn't. I didn't want the guys who had not bought the DVD to pick up all the material from the discs for next to nothing - it won't be fair to those who bought it; but I also didn't want the guys who HAD bought the DVD to get nothing more than a rehash of the discs - it wouldn't have been worth their while. So in the end, I had to work out different material for this workshop. I think it went well.

It was an enriching experience for me in the design and the sharing of the material. I had barely enough time to cover everything I wanted to share - I know I rushed a little to try and do more material. That might be something I would want to consider when I conduct the workshop on the bottom deal later.

Still, I hope everyone had a good time and brought something home with them. Shawn (my brilliant young photographer) had sent me the photos of the event and I thought I'd post them here.

Thanks once again to everyone who had made this a possibility!

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SMC Gathering - 21 Feb 2009

Loads of thanks to everyone who turned up and made this gathering one of the most successful ones in a LONG time! The turn out was good and everyone was sporting enough to mingle and have a great time together!

Kudos to the people who took the plunge and actually took their turns performing

I sincerely hope that all who turned up had a great time and perhaps ‘levelled up’ in their magic in some way or other. Enjoy the following pictures!

(My apologies to those who went earlier… I think my phone had a glitch and I missed taking photos of those guys.)

Xiang Long and Justin in the photo enjoying the show.

Justin (Itachi) performing a card trick for Allie (Eagle)

Greatly engrossed (or completely bored?) Moses and Javier (Jumbo) watching on.

The crowd watches…

Linking Rings Mayhem! Adrian (AdrianLee) works the crowd!

As Gordon would say, “SHOW OFF!”

Wei Liang (LoyaLover) doing his coin stuff!

Alex (Alexander) puts on a show

Wenhan (ghostace84) doing a grotesque effect with some thread and body orifices.

Zian (Chanzian) flashes his coins at a mesmerised audience.

Allie (Eagle) doing a rendition of the Crazy Man’s Handcuffs

The great cardician – MagicalLobo – Han Xiang making Zian do some work.

Gordon (dry_gin) temps fate again and hopes that coincidence would save him.

Jiawen (jiawen) makes his move and performs a quickie.

Jerome (jeromefang) dazzles with his display of coin work.

Bernard (magic_dow) chills out in a corner – proving that he does indeed show up for gatherings. (And that miracles do happen)

Chinmaya (hope I got the spelling right) (csjoshi) uses his ‘paranormal’ powers to bend a 50c coin.

Bin Hao (chizzielamer) makes an impression on more than one spectator in the audience!

Bin Hao's cousin, Vincent shows us a thing (or two?)...

Once again, I want to thank all the performers for taking the plunge (I know I had to twist a few arms but hey – you guys were really sporting! It felt good right!?) and making this a truly memorable SMC gathering!

Thanks also to all the MODs who made a concerted effort to facilitate the event with your presence and help!

Do drop a post or message if you have any feedback or comments on ANYTHING! :) Look forward to hearing from you and seeing you again soon!

GOLD SEAL BICYCLES

Enrico passed me a pair of these beauties. These are apparently traditionally cut decks that are supposed to handle the way 'real' cards should handle. Richard Turner is one of the world's foremost authorities with the pasteboards and it's probable that he is second to none when it came to handling a deck of cards. With all the hype on different decks out there in the market (thanks to Ellusionist) - most of which are (in my most humble opinion) trash that are only fit for juggling - it is good to see somebody who still has his head screwed on right.


My initial reaction when I heard that Richard Turner came up with his own deck (his 3rd version if I'm not wrong) was one you could expect - skeptical and mostly cynical. Do we really need another deck in the market? I mean: enough cashing in on the poor hobbyist already! Haven't 'professionals' done enough damage to the market?



I personally felt that the first turner deck was a disaster. It was a one way deck with a print of some old gunfighter (that was supposed to resemble him) using BEE casino stock. The deck handles just as well as any BEE deck but the backdesign really - for lack of a better word - SUCKED. I liked the white border, but that wasn't enough to offset the damage of the horrifying back design.



Then he came up with the Traditionally cut BEE decks. They were BEE. What else needs to be said? They were the best of the best and the cutting made them very easy to faro and shuffle. The linoid finish just turned a prestige deck into a luxury deck. I loved them, but I won't use them because they were all round back designs - not exactly a great choice unless you work exclusively with gambling demonstrations. And the average card player doesn't even know the existence of BEEs in Singapore - most of them have not even set foot into a Casino.



Now, Mr Turner has released the traditional cut on the Bicycles. It's probably the best thing that he has ever done for the magic community! Dubbed the GOLD SEAL BICYCLE CARDS, they are probably the best investment you can make if you're a card worker.



According to his website: "Unlike most of the cards manufactured today, the cutting blade used in traditionally cut cards starts at the face of each card and punches through to its back. As a result, a sharp edge is created on the backside of each card and a rounded edge, which facilitates a flawless weave during each shuffle, is formed on the card’s face. Traditionally cut cards ensure that card men and magicians can easily interlace the cards to produce crisp, clean shuffles, especially with some of the more intricate shuffling techniques like the one-handed shuffle, and the faro shuffle, both in-hand, and on the table."



I decided to put that to the test the moment I got my hands on one of these babies.

Every deck has a 'gold' seal and a sticker that reads "Traditionally cut for the Professional".

Each deck comes with two identical jokers (which is a really great plus - I hate to have to work with the 'guarantee' joker; a blank card for customised effects (perhaps?); and an advertising card for Richard Turner.

The deck is smooth as any linoid finish deck even though it says 'air cushion' finish. The cards are cut out of standard casino stock - just the right thickness for extended and optimum use. The quality of the cards are unparalled - they feel really slick; they are crisp to the snap; and they'd make anyone who handled this deck drool. False deals are wondrously smooth and easy - you can spoil yourself silly with this one. Seconds melt right through the top; bottoms slip right off with little resistance; even centres are a breeze - there is barely any noise as the card makes its way past the offending blocks that imprison it.

But the real tests - the shuffle tests - are the ones that Mr Turner claimed were what made these traditionally cut cards better.

Fresh out of the box, I tried the Tabled Riffle Faro.

Check it out. The cards literally collapsed into position - it was like putting a hot knife into butter - they melted into position with no resistance. Possibly the EASIEST tabled riffle faro I had ever performed. And this was at the FIRST attempt on a NEW deck!

I was damn BLOODY impressed!


Having seen the quality of the cards with a tabled riffle faro, I decided to try the one handed faro shuffle immediately after. The results were astounding.

The corners of the cards just slip right into one another with no resistance at all. The one handed faro shuffle you see here is performed immediately after the tabled riffle faro and is the SECOND shuffle I performed using a brand new GOLD SEAL deck.

There is no question about it - the traditionally cut cards are truly better suited for faro work and shuffle work. What about the rest of the shuffles that we so love? The pull throughs and the push throughs and the zarrows and the what nots? I went on to try a few blind shuffles and cuts, all of them handle exactly the way they should.

In conclusion, the Gold Seal Bicycle decks are a card worker's dream come true. I must thank Mr Turner for probably the single most valuable contribution EVER made to the card magic community. He has almost (if not totally) perfected the tool of our trade.

A closer look at the Strike Second Deal?

Just a sample clip of the strike second as detailed in SECOND THOUGHTS. Some people have requested for a closer look, so I put this one together in my bedroom (sort of). ;)

This isn't off the DVD - it's just a quickie (took about the better half of 10 minutes with my handycam and Windows Movie Maker) as a sort of demo. It was raining outside, so the lighting's not too great, but it's still clear enough.

Second Thoughts - PREORDER release.

Second thoughts on the Second Deal is now available for pre-orders. The product will only ship after Christmas as I'm going on a long trip to the US. :P

http://www.cardshark.sg

Second Thoughts on the Second Deal

It took a herculean effort, but it's done. I'm still having mixed feelings about the whole thing. The entire project's good to go, but some part of me still has misgivings about releasing the material. But I know it has to go out; there are enough arguments to push it forward - least of which is ownership over the material.

In a way, it's also a form of giving something back to the magical community that has been such a huge impact on my life. I'm proud of the friends I've made and the progress that have seen me through the past 5 years. This also serves as some form of closure and resolution to a life that should never have been.

Although it's been a real crazy ride, I'd dare say it's been worth it. Loads of thanks to many people - Fei, Jasper (you guys've always been there when I need you. It's really something). Gordon, Enrico and Kar Wee - the best friends a fella could ever have in magic madness. Of course, all the SMC mods who've always been so supportive of everything I've done - Adrian, Zian, Jerome and Axl (yes, even Axl...).

If I ever had second thoughts in magic, it's only why I never got down to it earlier.

Make a Wish Foundation @ Singapore Flyer

A group of us performed for the Make a Wish Foundation at the Singapore Flyer on the 25th October. It was really fun and we had some really young new blood with us - they had a great time too I hope! Working directly with the beneficiaries and their families was a fantastic feeling - you know that you did something special and gave someone a little more than just goodwill.

From left: Darren, Alistair, Jeter and Jasper having a good meal before the show!

Adrian and Darren entertaining some parents and children.

After the performance the organiser offered us a chance to go up the FLYER at $15 per person - more than 50% off the regular price! We thought it'll be a nice experience at that price (I won't pay $30 for this) so we took her up on her offer.
Here you see Jeter and Darren all smiles on the way into the FLYER.

Almost at the top - inside the cabin of the Singapore FLYER. Adrian, Gordon and Kar Wee all looking somewhat tired but satisfied (I hope!)

DVD blues... Lull period

Well, I'm glad to say that most of my stuff is now in order. I'm still working on the website (mostly in the mind since I haven't had much physical time) but I've finalised the links i want to include.

At least my DVD project on Second Dealing is almost over - I've completed the filming at the studio and it's now just entering the editing stage. The filming was really weird - I felt so self-conscious that it was hard to actually perform the way I usually perform: in fact, the camera really gave me the creeps. It's certainly not going to be my usual (far from my usual or best) performance, but I suppose it's the best I could do under those conditions. Thank God for Enrico, Kar Wee and Gordon being there - they made the filming process much easier.

I think I can take a short break once I've finished my website - hope to complete everything by the end of the month. :)

Cards; cards; cards!

Just got my new batch of cards. 6 dozens!

Check it out:

There's nothing like running through a whole bunch of brand new, crisp, cards...

I just did a rough calculation - I run through almost 200 decks of cards a year! This is the 3rd time I'm ordering cards this year!

Sheesh. I'm a card addict.

Work in progress... cardshark.sg

Geez - I'm quite excited about some new work in progress at cardshark.sg. It's a big step and I'm really thrilled that things are moving along. At the moment, it's too early to tell if any of it's ever going to happen but I'm keeping my fingers really crossed. Toes too. Keep your eyes peeled! Check back soon at http://www.cardshark.sg

Migration complete!

If you have been using http://www.cardshark.sg to get to my BLOG, you'll now notice that it doesn't take you here directly anymore. I've switched my Domain name host and it's working out really well so far!

This had been my original idea from the beginning - to have a blog linked from my main website (which should have general details and such). Then probably setup a private area for my students and friends so they can access more exclusive material.

At the moment, the website is still work in progress. You can stop by for a look if you want, but it's going to undergo some drastic changes soon. Hopefully. As always, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Migration

I'm working on a domain name transfer at the moment and hope everything will turn out well at the end of this month. I'm currently using PacNet's services but they've been a real let down so far service-wise. Let's keep our fingers crossed! :X

TRYumph

There're so many versions of Triumph out there. This post is the result of a debate sparked off on the SMC forums. I personally feel that the less moves there are in an effect like that, the more magical the impact is - there is no need to overprove anything if the conviction of the audience is already high. Daryl's triumph display is already one of the most convincing displays ever devised for Vernon's Triumph effect.

This addition is nothing more than another frill - if it came down to pure technique in a Triumph routine, I still won't use an in the face cull for obvious reasons. Most technicians have their own methods of accomplishing the same thing; I just happen to like this method. Mind you - it's a poor effect; I think the best Triumph I have ever witnessed is still the original version by Vernon as detailed in "STARS OF MAGIC" with the Daryl display added in for good measure. Nothing else comes close to being as magical; more technical maybe, but hardly more magical.