The System

Is it possible that there can be a foolproof system for predicting the winner of horse races? Watch as Derren explores this.

It moves a little slow but it is well worth watching. It is very well done.

Lee Asher

Eugene is home to another magic legend: Lee Asher.

Still a young man, he's secured his place in magic history with the invention of the Asher Twist (at age 15!) among many other accomplishments. He's also a super cool guy.

Here is the Asher Twist performed by the man himself. Awesome!

The Mysticians

I finally made it out the local Eugene magic club called the Mysticians. Some muggles out there might be wondering what is a magic club and what goes on there? A magic club is just an organized gathering of magicians who want to share their art with each other. The Mysticians have been meeting once a month in Eugene for the last 40 years!

Generally the meetings have a formal and then an informal section. During the formal section, the magicians take turns performing for each other. This is a great chance to practice new effects and to get feedback and tips. It is also a chance to perform for a small crowd and that is always a good thing to do to improve confidence. After that the informal section is where everyone is just hanging out exchanges ideas, moves and tricks.

The age range at the Mysticians is 8 to 90 years old. The two founders are people who will be remembered in the history of magic. One of them is Jerry Andrus who I found out last night is the inventor of the Trizonal Space Warper. When I was a kid Jerry presented this optical illusion on the show "That's Incredible" and I loved it. Later in life some friends had this segment on video tape would watch it. It was only last night that I realized who he was. He actually had one with him last night and I was aware he was an inventor of optical illusions and then it all clicked so I asked him about it. He explained to me how he made it an confirmed that he was indeed on "That's Incredible."

It is a such an honor and a priviledge to be around such experienced magicians. Everyone at the club welcomed me with open arms and it was a great time. I especially liked the performances of the younger members. Such talent!

Mindvention

Well I just booked my trip to Mindvention in Las Vegas. It's a three day magic convention focused on the Mentalism style. Mentalism is performing the illusion of mind reading. I definitely tend towards mentalism but I also do standard close-up magic as well. This convention looks like it will be a blast. Jason Alexander (from Seinfeld) will be there showing his mentalism act and talking about magic. There is a full line up of lectures and performances.

The last convention I went to was the Black Pool one in North England in 2003. It's a lot of fun to spend 3 days completely immersed in magic.

One More ... Galaxy

This is the last of the old magic videos that I made when I was in Dublin that I want to share. After this it will have to new ones (which I haven't yet made).

In the video, I'm rushing because the camera had a time limit on videos but you get the idea. In the actual effect the spectator does the random dividing of the deck.

Cellophane Surprise

A fun little trick.

Triumph

I still haven't made any new magic videos but I found a few old ones so I'm going to post one or two in the meantime. Here is a version of Triumph.

Pinnacle

Ok here is an old magic video that I filmed with a webcam while living in Dublin. The quality sucks and my performance is so-so. This effect is a ring penetrating a rubber band in 4 stages. It is called Pinnacle.

Cool Magic Video

On a lighter note, here is a cool magic video. I think I will have to make some new videos of myself doing magic. M@ at planetranch.com has requested this. I'll try and dig up an old one and post that soon, but for now enjoy this guy (he's pretty good):

A Magical Surprise

As stated before, I lost out on the chance to by a classic antique magic book. After not buying it at Powells, there was my failed attempt to call and buy it. Someone had beat me to it!

That someone was Iriewoman. What a sweet and thoughtful thing to do. She was laughing inside for a week as I talked about regretting not getting it and then it just showed up in the mail a few days ago. She rocks.

The book is interesting because there is no date in it although it says that it is the first American edition. I did some research and found it was first published in 1876 in London and then the first American edition came out in 1881. My research also confirmed that this edition did not have a date in it - kind of strange. So I have a magic book that is 125 years old! I love it.

Derren Brown

Derren Brown is one of the best magicians going these days yet he has very little exposure in the States. I'm not sure why this is. Here is a clip that shows his classic style combining magic and chess. At the end he gives away half the secret. Brilliant.



Via: VideoSift

The Great Ruairio

My friend Ruairi (pronounced Roo-ree) from Ireland is a great magician and definitely a mentor to me. This picture shows him in action doing close-up magic and just look at the reaction. Every magician is striving for reactions like that - Ruairi gets them all time.