Back To The Grind, The Mentalist Grind

.:Ye Olde Magick Blog And The Project 365:.

2011 really seems to be a year for magic to gain a lot of stellar bloggers, as by my count, I have noticed at least three different magicians who are doing a project 365 of sorts in their respective blogs. This, to me, is quite intriguing because I can safely say that while I did it first, there’s practically no chance that they got the idea from me. Parallel thinking does run quite deep, to say the least.

Now, I’ve written much about magic in the past year, and to this day, I still do share my thoughts on the topic every now and then when I find it appropriate to do so. I feel a tad guilty about not being too active in the Magic Café, but it’s at least good to know that through my own way, I’ve given back to the industry through my Project 365 last year.

I guess that’s why it does the heart good to see that Ye Olde Magick Blog, penned by the professional magician Andrew Musgrave, actually went and featured my effort on his blog in his own Project 365. I felt very honoured, and as I continue along my path of self-improvement as a performer, I hope that I would continue to be able to pass on to the community both nationally and internationally the kind of passion and drive I have in elevating the art form through quality performance and critical analysis of how the industry is coming along and where it is headed, as opposed to where it should be headed.

That I hold myself to a higher standard as a performer and refuse to half-bake anything is my strongest suit. It helps set me apart from a few of my contemporaries, and it stands as a stern reminder that there should be no room for mediocrity in this industry if you want to gain recognition. Nowadays, being the first mover in the mainstream for our industry no longer gains you a significant advantage. It’s about running with that ball once you’ve gotten it.

Of course, the burning question has been whether or not I’d still be doing something huge related to magic and/or mentalism this year, and the answer is an unequivocal “yes.” As expected, the tandem of Kel and Jay will again be doing a show sometime in the –Ber months in the Vibal Publishing House building, but we’re coming up with something else. Something we’ve been dying to do for the longest time. Something we hope has never been done before, if not in the world, then at least locally.

For too long, the concept of a magic show has been patterned after the Blaine’s and the Copperfield’s of our era. It took something like Penn and Teller’s “Bullshit” show for them to do something different, but that was tenuously tied to magic at best, and then another alternative take was demonstrated to us by one Derren Brown in his awesome specials like “Messiah.”

As entertainers who want to bring nothing but the best, Jay and I are pretty excited about what we have cooking. Look out for it soon. It will hit you before you even realize it.

.:Spreading The Love:.

Yes, Technogra is totally a celebrity. A shame about the hairstyle, though. Coulda sworn he had a better one in the poster.

With this renewed drive to reach for the proverbial brass ring, I ended up with yet another brush with celebrity the other night, as I went and caught a huge party by Globe Tattoo, where they showed off their amazing roster of brand ambassadors, including Sarah Gaugler, Alodia Gosiengfiao, Saab Magalona, and Rico Mossesgeld. Coach Rio was unfortunately out of town, but that sure didn’t dampen the mood one bit. This is a pretty diverse lineup filled with people who are both very influential in their own rights, yet at the same time, very real people all the same. I guess that speaks volumes about Globe’s desire to target the general public by showing off a roster of people who are both lively and larger than life at the same time, but I digress.

In any case, seeing as I’ve been a Globe subscriber for about seven or eight years already, it was a no-brainer that I would drop in on this event when I received the invite earlier in the week. Not only am I pretty much a loyal subscriber for as long as I had a mobile phone, I’m also fairly well-acquainted with three of the endorsers, as I work with one through my company, and have been friends with two for years already.

Joey Mead and RJ Ledesma hosted the event. Cosplayers abounded, and I even met some familiar faces in the community, which just made me feel very at home. Some talents were showcased at the freedom wall, and meanwhile, I was hobnobbing with the PR people, talking to them about what to expect for the night.

As usual, sans the data-capping thing very few people seem to be happy about, this was good news all around. Globe’s pulling out all the stops with their 4G, and it remains to be seen how this will change the mood in the air for everyone else.

With that being said, because Ms. Pia Magalona kinda forgot her fork from when she last dropped by 99.5 RT, I took it upon myself to rectify that little error, as I performed a telekinesis (Looool. So sic.) for them that just made jaws drop all around. I even ended up doing it a second time for Frank and Elmo, two of Pia’s sons, whose astounded reactions made my and Rico’s night, without question. Afterwards, I did some psychological mind-reading then proceeded to explain how I did it. The explanation made the whole thing even more amazing to them than the actual performance, and ladies and gentlemen, that’s how you show mastery of the mind: by showing them the cold, hard truth, yet still blowing their minds all the same.

So mind-blowing, everything turned into a purple haze.

Overall, everyone was pretty happy with the event, and I even got a pretty cool picture where I could make-believe that I’m actually endorsing Globe. Unfortunately, I think there’s something a wee bit disturbing about my mock poster…

I can’t quite put my finger on it, though…

FINAL Project 365 For 2010!

.:365/365: On My Hopes For Magic In 2011:.

And so, after 364 other articles about magic... what have we learned?

Project 365 (364/365): On Being The Best Magician In The Philippines

.:364/365: On Being The Best Magician In The Philippines:.

I don’t think it’s such a bad thing for any performer worth their salt to be regarded as “the best magician in the Philippines,” if such a title could possibly be given to someone and undisputed at the same time. Recognition of one’s contributions, skill, and abilities as a magician would certainly be quite a boon, but alack and alas, it’s rather difficult for anyone to ever so much as give a conclusive answer to a person who’d ask me, “Hey, Kel, who do you think is the best magician in the Philippines?”

Project 365 Smorgasbord (361-363)

.:361/365: On The Self-Degradation Of The Art Form:.

Let me tell you a story but not mention any names. I have a feeling that if the person concerned would read this, though, he would pretty much know it’s him.

Anyways, there’s a reason why I no longer try to completely erase my background as a magician, and it’s not because I still do a lot of magic routines despite always ending my shows with a bunch of mentalism stunners.

It’s mainly because in the Philippines, among the booking people, “mentalism” is turning into quite a dirty word. And I don’t like it. Not one bit.

Project 365 Smorgasbord (357-360)

.:357/365: On The Sleight Vs. Gimmick Debate:.

Some purists in the magic industry have been rather vocal in the past about their aversion for using gimmicks to achieve an effect when a sleight (No matter how difficult it happens to be.) could be utilized instead. Even more annoyingly, they turn their noses up at people who love their gimmicked items as if it makes these performers any less of a magician for not being able to use dexterity to achieve magic.

As one of those magicians who does love his gimmicks, I can’t help but scoff at this misguided notion, because at the end of the day, it’s all the same to the audience, and as most people who know me are quick to point out, that’s really all I care about.

The difference between using a gimmick and using paid actors is the difference between a Criss Angel magic show and one you could actually do live. As most skeptics like to point out when they demonstrate how they duplicate “psychic” abilities, if they can do it with no powers, yet charlatans insist that they do it with powers, then these charlatans are doing things the hard way for no good reason whatsoever.

Project 365 (356/365): On Longevity In The Industry

.:356/365: On Longevity In The Industry:.

We’ve seen so many magicians who have come and gone like the proverbial flash in the pan in the industry, but the ones we almost universally look up to are the Burtons, Hilarios, and Copperfields of the world, who have managed to capture the imagination of their audiences and with each passing decade, have successfully managed to reinvent themselves to stay relevant and marketable for bookers worldwide.

What does it take for a magician to last as long as these luminaries have? Is it all about being at the right place at the right time? Skill? Personability? Or do we go with the cliché, “a combination of all the right tools?” In actuality, I believe it has a lot to do with flexibility, more than anything else.

Project 365 (353/365): On Being As Good As Your Last Show

.:353/365: On Being As Good As Your Last Show:.

A jock I know told me a long time ago: you’re only as good as your last boardwork.

In a lot of things, that holds true. So let me tell you about my last show, but before that, let me tell you about my worst one...

Project 365 Smorgasbord (349-352)

.:349/365: On The Philippine Online Magic Community:.

With The Story Circle as one of the most recognizable websites about Philippine magic among the younger generations and stellar blogs like Leodini’s holding up the banner for the Philippines in the international community, the Philippines is fairly well-represented in the online magic community. There are a ton of videos on YouTube showcasing our craft, and a lot of it happens to be pretty good, to say the least.

We have a pretty solid community, and thankfully, most of our “infighting” remains just that: infighting. The international community is relatively insulated from any controversies within our little corner of the world, unless it’s something the entire Philippine community stands behind. And that’s nice, really. The rest of the world doesn’t need to know which magician is feuding with whom in the Philippines – although they’d best be informed which undesirables are deemed so by the community at large. Sure, the united front may give other people the misconception that everything is hunky-dory in the Philippine magic scene, but anyone can read between the lines, and they can get down to the nitty-gritty if and only if they want to, rather than the whole mess being in plain sight for everyone to see and pick at in their free time.

Project 365 (348/365): On Philippine TV Magic

.:348/365: On Philippine TV Magic:.

There’s a lot of magic on Philippine television lately, and in this case, I’d want to focus mainly on non-exposure features of magic, for starters.

Philippine TV has had its fair share of magic programs, whether they be full-blown TV specials, or even regular TV shows. Currently, Wow, Meganon has segments featuring Jeff Tam and Wanlu, albeit Wanlu has focused on his ventriloquism at this point.

Nonetheless, there has been a lot of television airtime featuring magic from Filipinos, and it’s a bit funny and sad that in terms of fresh ideas, the regular TV shows have a lot more of them than the TV specials, seeing how nearly every single TV special aired so far has been a spiritual ripoff of a western one, and that practically every single effect that has been performed has been done before in a western one. It’s not even just the fact that these effects have been shown before, it’s that all the pizzazz and sizzle from the previous ones were stripped away in the localized performances.

Project 365 (347/365): On Skeptics

.:347/365: On Skeptics:.

Skeptics aren’t necessarily hecklers, but you can spot them a mile away. These are the people who look at a mentalist and assume that trickery is involved. Which is pretty funny half the time when you realize that mentalists are pretty forthcoming about revealing to everyone that they utilize psychological gambits and other similar methods to achieve their results. Or they just do exactly what they claim to say, consequences be damned.

Skeptics look at magic with a certain air of disdain. While not all of them will challenge a magician onstage, you can just tell they’re rolling their eyes at a performer because the whole thing feels beneath them and an insult to their intelligence that someone could so much as pretend to have magic powers when everybody knows that simply isn’t the case.

Project 365 (346/365): On Hecklers

.:346/365: On Hecklers:.

It’s happened to the best of us. We’re out there, minding our own business, performing for a most appreciative audience. Then there’s this one guy who looks at the whole thing sternly with his arms crossed, and he couldn’t help but feel envious that the magician is the centre of attraction now and for the next, oh, five minutes or so.

He walks up to you, and tells you with so much conviction: that’s fake. That’s not real magic. You look at him, dumbstruck. He’s what? 25, maybe 27 years old, and he still believes in real magic? Is something wrong with him? Next thing you know, he tries to grab your cards when he thinks you’re doing something funny, he chalks up all those sleepless nights he spent watching the Masked Magician as he tries to reveal your secrets, and clearly, everyone else is just tolerating this guy because he’s their friend.

Thankfully, you’re not, and with people like those, do you really want to be?

Welcome to the experience of being heckled. Consider yourself unlucky if you’ve never gone through this before, because heaven help you if you get so big and successful before your first one comes along to ruin your style and to wreck your day.

Hecklers never fail to get the goat of magicians. You will find on magician’s forums endless topics devoted to how to deal with them and at times, even wish fulfilment fantasy of showing them up and putting them in their place through some brilliant means or some other. In reality, though, there is no one surefire way to deal with them.

Some hecklers are best ignored. Others are best played along with. Still others are best maimed and left a bloody pulp on the ground. The rare breed are best taken out for dinner and a movie. Regardless, a lot of attention has been showered on these hecklers, but we haven’t even come close to solving the problem yet. And while it’s a bit disastrous to have magicians getting heckled, I can safely say that comedians have it tougher when it comes to hecklers.

And you know the worst thing about it? More often than not, your first ever hecklers would be family. It’s one of the most disheartening things to encounter, but it’s so commonplace already that it’s like a rite of passage. If you could actually impress your family, then you’re on your way to something good.

Really, when it comes to hecklers, there’s only one applicable advice at all times: get better. Whether it’s your magic that needs to improve, or your spectator management skills, you just get better, and it wouldn’t matter if former president GMA herself were heckling you.

Project 365 Smorgasbord (343-345)

.:343/365: On Overexposure:.

Ever felt that there’s more magic all around us than ever? What used to be a rare, at best occasional treat, has become so commonplace that, well, the magic is gone. The video above features an excellent bit of magic, but because the Coin Bite has been so used on so many shows so many times already, even a stellar performance from Cyril Takayama can’t overshadow the routine’s overexposure.

How many TV shows have featured magicians at some point? In local TV alone, you could see a ton of magicians on their talent shows, a few more in their noontime shows, and even a bunch of them in their daily talk shows. News programs have some magicians involved, TV 5 in particular has shows that either feature magicians or expose magic, and it’s hard to think of a single wee of TV programming without any magicians showing up at some point.

Project 365 (342/365): On Feuding Magicians

.:342/365: On Feuding Magicians:.

Apparently, magic isn’t spared from feuds, intrigues, and controversies, and there have been quite a number of them over the decades. While I’m sure revealing the details behind the not-so-blatant feud between Criss Angel and David Blaine is quite a thrill for some, overall, I can’t really think of how magician feuds benefit the industry, to begin with.

Project 365 Two-Fer (339-365): On The Next Generation

Before anything else, in case you missed our Christmas show last Friday, "My Idea Of A Perfect Christmas Show (Sayang hindi namin nakuha si Jose Mari Chan...)," you can catch snippets of it tonight on TV5, after Willing Willie, on the TV Show Wow Meganon!

Hope you guys like it, as we definitely pulled out all the stops for that show. :)

.:340/365: On The Ellusionist Culture:.

I’ve touched upon this in the past, but it’s something that bears repeating: Ellusionist has been both one the biggest boons and banes for the magic industry in the last decade, arguably next only to David Blaine (Criss Angel is a bane to the industry, period.). Through Ellusionist, we ushered in a whole new breed of magicians, with a throng of young performers who have been reared on the style crafted by the E to reach out to the next millennium’s budding magicians.

While Ellusionist did its part in spreading the love for magic for a new generation, it did so with an inordinate emphasis on only one particular aspect: street magic. By positing the classical acts of Copperfield and Hennig as “old-fashioned” and “cliché,” they ended up indirectly disrespecting the facets of magic that actually paved the way for them to make an impression on the industry and in the mainstream all at the same time.

It was a stroke of genius on their part, really: they made magic seem cool all over again, and anchored it on the misleading premise that anyone can be a magician, and magicians will always impress people, without allowing their would-be clients a chance to glance at the fine print: yes, anyone can be a magician, but only if they work at it. Yes, magicians will impress people, but only if they’re actually any good at it. While retreading age-old material just given a new and edgy twist may seem like an excellent way to milk money, it isn’t a very viable one in the long term. Ellusionist is succeeding and will continue to succeed, but mostly because of an excellent marketing team rather than any actual substance behind
the things that they do.

This isn’t to say that the E is completely bereft of substance, but it’s impossible to ignore how much more sizzle than steak can be found in almost all of their recent releases. After the initial onrush of great material, they began to rely more on their slick production values than in actually coming up with effects that really turned magic on its head.

All things considered, I like that there are more magicians than ever, but I also hate that there are more magicians than ever. To be honest, one can’t blame Ellusionist for this lack of regard for magic as an art form, but simply a matter of statistics: as more people want to learn magic, there will be more people who will want to learn it for the wrong reasons, be it for exposure, just scoring some one-night stands, or any other less than delightful motives. At the same time, couple this with the YouTube culture that we would have to discuss tomorrow, and you have a recipe for disaster.

It’s a huge burden, but the onus needs to be shared by Ellusionist to uphold magic and continue elevating it on their own turf. At the moment, they’re doing well coasting along on their success, but there’s no reason for them to not want to take it to the next level if it means that it will benefit everyone in the industry. How they could do it remains to be seen, though, because clearly, their current methods have reached an upper limit, and something drastic needs to happen to make that next transition.

.:341/365: On The YouTube Generation:.

Ever noticed how a good magic trick on YouTube would never go without having some smartass commenter divulging how the trick works? Heck, the video above? That’s proof in the pudding right there.

Welcome to the YouTube Generation of magic: a place where poor performances, exposure, and outright bootlegging of full videos are commonplace and unstoppable. If you thought torrent was dangerously hurtful to magic, YouTube is probably infinitely worse.

Ever wanted to learn how to do a magic trick? Just go to any YouTube video online, and either there’s a video out there that teaches the trick, or you could see a performer flub the trick so bad you’d know how he did it, or you could see an excellent performance filled with commenters who just have to tell you how it’s done and kill the faerie for everyone else.

While it has been an excellent platform to showcase magic, it has, in my estimate, done more harm than good to the magic industry. Really. Why would the average person want to pay money to see a good magic act when not only can they see the same performance on YouTube, they can even find out how it’s done afterwards?

And I guess that’s exactly why you would never find my full act online, for fear of eliminating any surprises I have up my sleeve as a performer. I like being able to keep people guessing what I would do next, and how free-flowing my performances can be. Having my full act on YouTube ruins that spontaneity because there are no more unexpected bits and pieces to my show, so the entire audience can potentially brace themselves against anything I can cough up, which is a crying shame, really.

The YouTube generation hasn’t really inspired a new generation of magicians. Instead, it has given an avenue for killing faeries wholesale, whether it be the likes of the Mythbusters (More on them next time.) or just your average sub-par magician botching the trick to the point of exposure. It doesn’t do a whole lot of instilling respect for the art form, and instead perpetuates the notion that anyone can do magic and that it’s nothing but trickery, and all trickery is bad. As it feeds into the cycle of denigrating the perception of magic, I feel that the gains it may have garnered for the magic industry in terms of dissemination and exposure are not enough to undo the damage it has caused upon the respect for the secrecy of the art form, as it has become so casual and widespread that it’s no longer a big deal to do exposure the way Valentino’s actions used to be such a huge issue for us.

Project 365 Smorgasbord (336-338)

Before anything else, thanks to everyone who made last night's "My Idea Of A Perfect Christmas Show (Sayang, hindi namin nakuha si Jose Mari Chan...)" a huge success, from the audience to our performers, Jay Mata, yours truly, the Comedy Cartel's Richie Fernandez and GB Labrador, and Talentadong Pinoy's second hall of famer, the world-class ventriloquist, Wanlu and his puppets.

Also much thanks to my consultant for the event, the Boss, Rannie Raymundo.

.:336/365: On Exposure:.

The topic that almost unanimously ticks the magic industry off, exposure has always been considered as the knife that plunges into the heart of the industry every single time it happens.

During the times of the Vaudevillian magicians, it was commonplace for them to steal their tricks from each other, so they ended up turning to patents and the like in order to protect their routines. Unfortunately, this meant that the workings of their routines would become matters of public record, thereby allowing any unscrupulous performer to steal a magic routine with ease, to begin with, or just killing the fairy itself, so to speak.

From magicians stealing from each other to laymen feeling slighted at not learning how these apparent miracles are done, the resentment for the secrecy of magic grew and grew, and when Valentino came along, things rose to a fevered pitch. The greatest secrets of magic became available for anyone who’d care to watch a television special.

As if that weren’t enough, the dawn of the YouTube generation brought about a general lack of respect for magic’s secrets: half of the people who do magic onscreen expose it unintentionally through poor performances or poor camera angles or snide comments they allow to get through, or intentionally make videos to expose magic, to begin with.

The general excuse for exposure has been to challenge magicians to “evolve.” The challenge is for them to come up with new ideas to revolutionize magic until someone sees it fit to unveil the secrets again, as if any one person actually had the right to go out there and strip people from their livelihood just because they feel like it or because they want to put some logs in the punch bowl.

But see, I can’t say exposure has always been bad. If anything, what is truly bad about exposure is the general disrespect that is thrown towards magicians while the exposure goes on. “These are all tricks! Don’t be fooled!” As if anyone is stupid enough to believe George Clooney was really a doctor. Or Batman. But no, these things just keep going on, and there’s little the magic community can do to stop people who just want to expose their secrets willy-nilly.

In contrast, the way Penn and Teller expose magic may get magicians up in arms, but it has certainly done its job in raising the profile of magic. More often than not, their exposure of a magic trick actually proves how difficult magic is, and how it takes skill to actually pull anything off.

And this is why I hate the term “may daya,” or in English, that the magician “cheats.” Looking at the sheer amount of skill a Rannie Raymundo has in manipulating coins to appear and disappear at will, it becomes rather disrespectful to say that what he does to achieve this is “cheating” when in reality, what he does is extremely difficult. Cheating connotes that something difficult is made easy. Magicians are very well capable of doing difficult things and making them look easy. Is that cheating? Of course not. That’s talent.

And with that, we see how exposure has become a devastating facet to the magic industry: while it does have its share of elevating the art form and entertaining people more, it also emboldens these same people to think that the art of magic isn’t an art worth respecting at all. If only for that, I tend to look at exposure with a wary eye, no matter how liberal I may be about my stand on the issue.

.:337/365: On Creating A Magician Persona:.

Whenever I watch a performer onstage, I always look out for their performing persona. Believe it or not, this oft-ignored facet of a performer’s total package can spell the difference between a successful performer and another brick on the wall. Just ask David Blaine, who was originally every bit as animated as your regular street hustler.

You see, how you project yourself onstage allows the audience to form an immediate opinion about you. This can work to your advantage or disadvantage, depending on what character you choose and how well you portray it. If anyone remembers “The Prestige,” we’ve seen performers who absolutely lived and died by their characters and refused to let anyone outside of their personal circles find out that the character is all just an act. Few people knew Chung Ling Soo, the Chinese mystic who was fatally shot while doing his bullet catch routine, wasn’t even Chinese to begin with, but a full-blooded American. Obviously, Teller can actually talk. Derren Brown plays a suave and debonair character, yet happens to be gay in real life.

When you add all of these things up, you understand that even a performer who hardly changes how he is onstage and offstage still plays a character onstage, even if it’s just an extension of one’s real personality. The character one projects determines the confidence level of the performer as well, because if the performer isn’t at home with the character, it will show. A good character can enhance the simplest of magic acts. Who would’ve thought that a simple two-card monte would become legendary in the hands of David Blaine? Yet notice how many two-bit magicians do some amazing illusions as done by Copperfield, yet get reactions of people rolling their eyes in boredom. I can assure you that if Copperfield himself did the exact same routine in front of these people, more than half of these seemingly jaded viewers wouldn’t react the same way.

We’ve seen mentalists who insist on coming off as satanic. Their very intense and occult personality intimidates audiences and puts them at a level where nobody would dare question if what they do were legitimate or otherwise. We’ve seen comedy magicians who are a laugh a minute, but know when to reel in the comedy when the magic needs to be the focus of attention. Of course, we also know some comedy magicians who don’t know how to reel it in, but the less said about Bearwin Meily, the better.

It doesn’t matter what character you portray, you need to be able to live it once you’re onstage. I think of some of the best workers in the wrestling industry, and I can’t help but feel that they’re the best because they know how to live their gimmick, no matter how ridiculous it can get. Think about it: how easy was it for Mark Calloway to get over a character of an undead zombie in the ring? The Undertaker had camp and ham written all over it, but the man behind the gimmick knew what it took to make it work. That’s the same thing a magician needs to get over as well: one needs to show that they are at home with what they are doing, unless it’s really their act to fool people into thinking they’re not.

Speaking of magic and wrestling, that reminds me of tomorrow’s topic...

.:338/365: On The Magic-Wrestling Connection:.

Aaaaaaaaaaand I have no shame. In the above video, you will find one of the most embarrassing chapters (Though one ought to be grateful it was a short one.) of the WWF/E’s storied history, where they tried to push a magician/wrestler named Phantasio. This was reportedly his first and only match on WWF TV, and with good reason: the two things simply didn’t mix too well inside the ring, although I can tell you that they probably would mix better onstage, where the magicians are.

Magic and wrestling are both, in my humble opinion, art forms. I have a deep respect for both of them, but regrettably am adept with only one of them. Maybe if I could take unbelievable amounts of pain the way those pro wrestlers do, but alas, I don’t have that kind of intestinal fortitude.

Having said that, the similarities between magic and wrestling don’t end there. Both are looked down upon as carnival fare. Both rely on suspension of disbelief from the audience in order for them to get a good reaction from their audiences. Both have their ridiculous shares of blowhard know-it-alls who challenge the performers because they think that just because it’s an act means that there’s no merit, skill, or art in what they do at all.

And really, when people think of it that way, it’s such a crying shame. Just because we know in advance who’s going to win. I always like to say that wrestling is scripted, but it isn’t fake. When someone falls off from the top of a cage onto the cold, hard, floor, there’s no amount of padding that would make that completely painless. If you don’t believe me, try jumping on your mattress on the ground floor from the top of the stairs and see if it doesn’t hurt at all.

And really, why single magic and wrestling out? Aren’t actors just more of the same? Why do they get a pass and the former two don’t? Is it because people just really have this insatiable desire to prove that they’re smart by going out of their way to reveal that magic and wrestling aren’t real? Newsflash: nobody gives a flying eff. People came to be entertained, and that’s really what you should be expecting when you go there.

So I guess it’s a bit disappointing for me that Phantasio never really got over in the WWF. I think it would’ve been cool if he churned out some more routines en route to the ring. What could he have pulled off, right? The possibilities were countless.

Project 365 (334/365): December Is Magical Essays Month

.:334/365: December Is Magical Essays Month:.

With less pictures and videos this month, the final month of this Project 365 will be ample walls of text that I hope would leave their mark on the magic community in a constructive manner. As a great fan of the art form, I certainly want to contribute to the elevation of magic whether in my country or worldwide by chiming in and throwing ideas meant to benefit the industry through the limited experience and knowledge that I have.

Perhaps I may or may not touch a controversial nerve over the course of this next month. Either way, I wholeheartedly encourage fellow performers who may stumble upon my blog to let your voices be heard. If you agree or disagree or have other ideas about magic and the issues besetting the industry today, I’d be more than happy to allow you the opportunity to let my humble blog become a soapbox for you to air out your thoughts. Heaven knows that the magic industry could do with a little more candor and a little less of silent suffering.

It has been an amazing year of doing this Project 365, even if I certainly had some days or weeks where I was clearly just coasting along. Still, when I found a particular month worthwhile to put effort in, it clearly showed, and the Mentalism, Filipino, and Escapology months were all the better for it, as well as some of the other earlier months that may have slipped my mind.

There are so many problems plaguing the magic industry today, and I wish to look at them in my own personal way and try to see where the problem stems from, and if within my capacity, suggest ways to alleviate these problems. It can only be hoped that this would result in some constructive brainstorming, and perhaps, other people in the industry would take heed and refine these ideas. If any magicians would like to share their own essays as well, just drop me an e-mail at mistervader@gmail.com, and I’d be more than happy to credit you and publish your thoughts on this platform.

Project 365 (333/365): And Now, A Final Word On The Supernatural...

.:333/365: And Now, A Final Word On The Supernatural...:.

I didn’t really offer much in the way beyond just describing the things I showed in the past month, and to be honest, I was hard-pressed to fill up a whole month with nothing but stuff pertaining to the paranormal. It was sort of a success, but I know there was so much ground I could’ve covered but I didn’t.

This sounds funny coming from a guy who deals with magic on a professional level, but I’m a true-blue skeptic. I don’t like believing in things I have no evidence for, which would’ve made me the prototype rational thinker if it weren’t for the fact that I’m not an atheist at all. There is a wide gap between what we know and what we don’t know, and while I like to have proof before I believe in something for the most part, I also like to have proof before I don’t believe in something, no matter how ludicrous it might come across on initial consideration.

So do I believe in any of the supernatural phenomena I have describe the past month? Well, I’m open to being happily educated that they are real. Or not-so-happily, given how grim some of these things are. Either way, I’m healthily sceptical and wouldn’t take anything at face value, and in today’s day and age, that’s actually a very sober notion, when you think about it.

One can only hope that as the years go by, and these phenomena are proven or disproven once and for all, the sense of wonder people have don’t ever disappear. Let’s face it: it’s the one thing that keeps magicians in business. The sense of wonder and failing that, the willing suspension of disbelief in a magical performance. Without any of these things, I guess magic would be doomed into obscurity as a lost art form.

This is merely a preview for my last month of Project 365: A month I devote to magical issues and my thoughts on these various issues. Hopefully, my essays and my reflections on them would do justice to the magic community at large.

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.

Project 365 (327/365): Mirror Magic

.:327/365: Mirror Magic:.

If there’s one thing about mirrors, it’s got to be the fact that it’s very evocative of dread when you’re staring at one in the middle of the night, armed only with a candle. Mirrors have been used a lot in stage illusions, but performing with actual mirrors rather than mirrors used to hide stuff or as part of the secret apparatus of a magic routine proves to be a whole different challenge altogether.

Some magicians like doing an illusion where they pass through a mirror, or routines involving two-way mirrors. In either case, there’s a lot of potential in doing magic with mirrors, and Cyril Takayama ably presents a very good example here.

Project 365 (326/365): Ashes On Arm

.:326/365: Ashes On Arm:.

Oh, what a classic. David Blaine made this one popular, essentially doing some freaky mind reading through the power of his... arm.

Nonetheless, it’s definitely one of the freakier effects out there, and is the non-impromptu version of Stigmata, which I infinitely prefer, to be honest. This is a bit messy, and a bit too prep-intensive for my tastes, although it does have its fans.