Project 365 Smorgasbord (328-332)

.:328/365: The Karnival Of Magick Compilation:.

Now I know what I want for Christmas.

I’m a huge fan of Bizarre Magick routines, albeit I must admit that I have very few of them in my repertoire. To be honest, I always wanted to do one of Andruzzi’s classics, but it turns out that the ingredients I require to pull it off are no longer in production, which is a crying shame, really.

So here I am, watching the preview video, and while I’m not entirely sold on the author as a legitimate character for Bizarre Magick, I’m sold on his actual effects. He looks a little too kind, a little too gentle for the character to truly work, but the thing is, if you could transcend that, then things are bound to be very interesting, as really, Bizarre Magick has even less practitioners than mentalism, and this market is ripe for the picking.

.:329/365: Pyrokinesis:.

Here’s a skill I’m not very comfortable with picking up, because truth be told, the days of playing with fire are long behind me.

If you’ve seen me do poi, that isn’t me playing with fire at all. If anything, it’s me treating fire with an immense amount of respect, simply because I’ve been excessively careful in preventing any untoward incidents while I do my thing, and I always take the proper safety precautions when I’m going at it.

That being said, pyrokinesis, or the ability to control fire, is a talent some performers have demonstrated in the past. It’s tough, it’s dangerous, but it’s definitely impressive. Maybe, just maybe, I could incorporate it into my repertoire at some point.

.:330/365: Bruised:.

Shades of “Stigmata,” which counts as both a bizarre and mentalist routine, albeit the whole thing about “Bruised” is that it’s more visual, but obviously less impromptu.

Have a person choose a card, and after getting hit, you manifest a bruise that indicates the chosen card. It’s a pretty simple script, but it gets a lot of mileage because it’s one of those routines that you just can’t help but be impressed by on paper.

.:331/365: The Spirit Slate:.

Imagine if your every thought could be read not by a mentalist, but by the spirits around you. Imagine that within the slates that are clean and empty, you will find that the very thoughts you have come up with materialize eerily on their erstwhile pristine surfaces.

This is the Spirit Slate effect, and it has been one that has seen a lot of performers who have taken this effect to great heights, Richard Osterlind being one of them.

.:332/365: The Haunted Handkerchief:.

With no thanks to the magician above who turned one of the best freaky magic routines into a silly little charade, the Haunted Handkerchief routine is a lot better than the video lets on. Banachek’s version of this particular effect is nothing short of phenomenal, and it’s too bad I can’t find it at the moment.