Santiago's Magic Musings

A possible home for "In Restless Dreams."

2010-04-23T08:14:00.001-07:00

I know I've talked about my show only a little bit and if vague terms. Mainly this has been simply because much of it was still a bit to nebulous for me to want to commit anything to what was at most a long term vision.

Well, it's come a little closer now.

One of the things that has been a hold up is finding a theater space that meets my needs. There are not that many theater spaces to begin with in the area and limiting my choices by a specific set of criteria made those choices practically non-existant.

No, let me rephrase that. My choices were non-existant but largely due to a certain level of ignorance on my part. Ignorance that it seems a very large number of my friends could have cured me of since they all knew about it.

See I spent some time yesterday afternoon searching around for information about possible venues, with several of the ones I was already familiar with in mind, to try and find out greater details (rental rates, stage plans, etc etc), and I found a place called "The Actors Theatre" in Santa Cruz.

On a lark I swung by there yesterday afternoon while waiting for my usual Thursday night activities to start and was lucky enough to run into the production manager for the space. I got a quick tour and then sat down and had an excellent conversation with the business manager there.

It's a small space, intimate which I like. 88 theater style seats as well as two wheelchair designated spaces, so basically 90 seats. The stage space is about 20'x25', they provide the lighting and sound systems (I provide the techs), and I get featured on their webspace and newsletter. The rates are very reasonable.

One of the things that has kind of held me up has been the thinking it takes to design a show when one doesn't know anything about the space it's going to be in. We've been doing that kind of thing for years with the Golden Stag Players but doing it for a magic show introduces it's own level of problems.

Now that I have a space in mind, the desing process has already been picking up and I feel like "In Restless Dreams" may have found it's first home.

How long?

2010-04-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've written anything here and for that I do apologize. I imagine that there might not even be anyone reading at the moment but really that is okay.

Where have I been? Around. I took a long break from magic mainly because I got a regular day job. As much as I love doing magic professionally the economy combined with a mortgage isn't always easily sustainable on a humble magician's earnings.

I haven't been inactive though. I've spent time working with the lovely Daya on magic for her forthcoming musical tour as well as developing some new material of my own. I hope to have a full scale stage production written some time soon and from there will begin the process of finding a place to perform it and pulling together the funds to properly produce the show.

The process has been long, finding the time in my otherwise busy schedule to stoke the creative juices and produce something, but I have done a number of things lately to bring that creativity back to life and it is working.

So thank you for your patience. If all goes well it may not be to far in the future when you will see my theatrical presentation out there on some marquee.

Rainbow Weddings doesn't respect their vendors.

2009-02-11T11:28:00.000-08:00

Okay, look, at this point I think it's pretty clear that I am indeed "gay and lesbian friendly." I have offered my magic services to "gay and lesbian" weddings and other functions. I'll work with virtually anyone.

Well, there is now one organization that is "gay and lesbian friendly" that I refuse to work with and I'm going to explain why.

Rainbow Weddings. If you are someone who has a service to offer to "gay and lesbian weddings", seriously consider doing so on your own instead of using their advertising services.

About two years ago I purchased advertising with them. I was totally fine with it. A little on the expensive side but I felt it was worth giving it a shot like so many of the other advertising venues I've tried. I did it to see if it was worth it. And like any half way decent business person I kept track of my ROI with their advertising.

Zilch. I bought a years worth of advertising and never even got a query let alone a gig. Now I'm not bitter about that. This is just business for me at this point. I spent the advertising dollar and gave it a reasonable amount of time to show me if it was going to be worth while or not. If I had gotten a query or two that would have been sufficient. A gig or two would have been great. In this case, nothing.

Well, at the end of the year I got the expected emails saying "Hey, your account is about to run out. Time to renew." I told them "No thanks" and then had the expected exchange of messages asking why. I explained that financially it didn't work for me and that my ROI didn't justify continueing to spend money with them. There is one other reason which is, simply, that I'm just not doing as much with magic these days and that what I want to focus on where my magic is concerned is the creation of my stage show.

Now at this stage I would have thought that I would not hear from them anymore. Contract done, etc.

No.

I started getting advertising emails from them. Special event notices like wedding expos and such. No automated means of getting off their lists so I sent messages asking to be removed. Nothing. More SPAM. More requests to be removed. More SPAM.

I called them. I spoke to them on the phone and politely asked to be removed from their mailings. Got promises. Got more SPAM.

I called them again. I spoke to them on the phone and more firmly asked to be removed from their mailings. Got promises. Got more SPAM.

Notice the pattern here?

Well, today takes the cake. I am getting the same fucking message I got originally asking me if my services are "gay and lesbian friendly" and how would I like to advertise with them.

So, here we are.

People at Rainbow Weddings, you clearly have no respect for your vendors and I will not only not be doing business with you, but I am informing everyone I can that you don't seem to be very trustworthy.

"Scrolls" is now available!

2007-07-09T08:25:00.001-07:00

Well, the time has finally come. My book, "Scrolls: A Book of Story Telling Magical Theatre" is finally available for order from Leaping Lizards Publishing.

"Scrolls" contains routines, essays and a one-man show of magic based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe entitled "Poe's Grave."

Effects include "The Devil's Suicide" (my version of the six card repeat), "The Eye of The Seer" (a spooky approach to The Egg Bag), "Reincarnation - The Broken and Restored Thread" and many other effects.

And if you order before August 1st you will receive a bonus CD of effects as well.

For a sample from the book or to order please visit:

http://www.leapinglizardsmagic.com/scrolls.htm

Enjoy!

Doing Demo Videos

2007-05-29T17:40:00.001-07:00

Well it's taken a fair amount of work, but I've managed finally to put together my first website demo video. It's not much, but I rather like it for a first effort. Once I get a better handle on how to do this video editing stuff I can make improvements until I get the kind of thing I really want all together.

On the artistic integrity of a good story...

2007-05-21T22:58:00.001-07:00

Okay, usually I'm talking about magic, or perhaps I'm talking about my rapier studies and SCA related things.

This time I'm talking about story telling via "Heroes."

So we now have ended the story. Or have we? Now that the first season is over, let's talk a little about how it ended. I am not satisfied. A couple of months ago I heard that they were going to take the story into another season. I knew then that I was likely not going to be happy about it. And here it turns out that I am correct.

First the big continuity error: Peter Petreilli should have just flown away. He could you know. The first power he absorbed was his brother Nathan's. We know that once he absorbed a power he could use it again and again. He could fly. And if Peter loved everyone "unconditionally" then he should have been willing to fly off and blow up at a safe distance. Why did it take Nathan to do that for him? Because he's scared? Well, yes, they established his reliance on his brother throughout the season, but I'm still no so sure. He seemed ready to use other powers to protect people despite the danger to himself.

But who else should have died? DL certainly. I'm guessing that in the original story that DL probably did die. Why didn't he? We'll get to that.

Who else? Ando probably, and definitely Syler. Ando's death would have turned Hiro into the hero he is supposed to be and Syler was the villian that needed to be destroyed in the end.

So why didn't these guys actually die? (And yes, Syler is still alive. The image of the manhole cover is painfully obvious even without the "symbolic" cockroach crawling on it.) I'm guessing "Corporate Greed."

The network sees that they have a good thing going making them money. So they say "Hey, let's change the story a bit so we can keep everyone's favorite characters and milk this thing for more money." So out goes the artistic integrity of the story. You could see it. You could feel it. The ending didn't justify all that had gone on before.

Imagine how much more powerful the story would have been if Ando had bought the farm at Syler's hand in Isaac's loft? That would have been the moment that Hiro's heart would have been sacrificed to the dragon just like in his favorite story of Kensie. How much more would it have meant to Nikki to save Micha once she truly realized that he was all she had left of DL now that she knew that despite the manipulation of their lives and relationship they really did love each other?

Someone once told me that the difference between a Hero and a Champion is that a Hero is dead. Cynical, but think about that in light of little Molly looking at Parkman and hoping that he doesn't die.

I've enjoyed this series right from the beginning and I expect that I'll continue to enjoy it into it's second season. But this would have been so much better had it been a one shot thing. The artisitc integrity of the story would have been maintained. I know that it's a battle for writers to keep their visions intact in the face of corporate greed. It's sad to think that this story seems to have suffered that.

For those of you who are the "artistic story teller types," whether you be magicians or writers or whatever, think about the artisitic integrity of the story you create and tell. Think how much more it could be if you don't hold back and especially if you don't sell out. Those moments are precious and it sucks to give them up to something that might be easier to do or will be "more commercial."

Oh, and while you're thinking about that, also think about who was wearing Kensei's armor at the end there. Looked like "Hiro's dad" didn't it? *smile*

On aging paper

2007-05-15T14:42:00.001-07:00

Occasionally when you are working to create your own props you find that you need to have paper that looks old. This is especially good for routines where the props are old books or maps. Nothing looks worse then when you are telling a story and you try to pass off something freshly printed from your computer as an old letter from several generations ago.

But paper is kind of delicate stuff isn't it?

Well, no, not really. Paper can take a pretty fair amount of abuse. And as such you can do some things to it which makes it look older then it actually is. Here then is a brief listing of different ways that you might use to make your paper look old.

1. For color, soak it in dark tea
2. To make sheets brittle, get them wet and then cook them in a low temp oven.
3. To yellow them just leave them out in the back of your car for about a month!
4. You can make paper look dirty by rubbing powdered chocolate on it.
(Yes, I know some people would consider that a waste of good chocolate.)
5. Use the microwave to cook ketchup or steak sauce onto the paper to get "dried blood."
6. Get sealing wax from your local art supply store and drip some on.
7. Get Violin Rosin from the music shop to rub on the paper for that "old" smell.

Sometimes it takes just a touch of creativity to make your props looks that much better, but when you do the payoff is amazing!

Technorati Post

2007-05-14T23:05:00.000-07:00

Technorati Profile

Want to be a Magician?

2007-04-11T09:44:00.001-07:00

Starting this April 16th, at the Boulder Creek Community Center I will be teaching magic classes!

There are two classes being offered.

First, a class specifically for adults and children together. What a great way to spend time with your kids, learning a skill which builds hand-eye coordination, self confidence and is great fun besides!

Second, a class specifically for adults only. Here we'll be examining more sophisticated magical techniques that you will be able to use to perform in most any situation and even build your own effects from!

Want to know more?

Sign up now at the Boulder Creek Community Center or call: 1-831-338-4144 to reserve your spot!

Santiago the Magician
Enter a World of Elegant Magic
Santiago's Magic

And so it begins....

2007-03-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

A long time project of mine is finally coming to fruition.

I have entered into negotiations with a publisher for my first book; Scrolls.

Scrolls is a collection of magic routines, essays and a one man play of magic effects based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. If all goes well then it will be published sometime in the fall.

I can only begin to scratch the surface on how I feel about this. Every time I have had an article published I have been overjoyed. Being a writer is almost as much fun as being a magician, and I've wanted it for far longer. When some of my essays started to see print I became utterly enthralled with the idea of actually publishing a book. Like many people I've even started half a dozen different novels and like many people those novels remain unfinished.

But creating a book of magic was something different and now, here I am, talking with a publisher!

Wish me luck, and believe me, if this all comes together you can bet you'll be hearing about it and where to buy it!

Santiago

Spammers at it again....

2007-03-16T16:27:00.000-07:00

For anyone out there who is getting SPAM that says it's coming from the Santiagos Magic domain name, I do apologize. It isn't coming from me at all. Some SPAMMER has latched on to my domain name as a way to try and hide the source of the messages. You can tell this from a number of different ways, but primarily you can see it in the fact that the addresses used are nonsense. For example I never send out messages from:

dwsch@santiagosmagic.com

Any random assortment of letters before the @ is a sure sign it is a SPAMMER.

And for what it's worth, every day now I'm getting several hundred bounced messages instead of the jackass who is sending them.

Not a lot I can do about it, but there is something you can do about it.

If you happen to get a SPAM from what appears to be my domain, or really ANY SPAM, please use the on-line SPAM reporting tool: SPAMCOP.

This tool will allow you to run the SPAM through a quick process that generates email complaints to the actual network administrators of the domains and ISP's really being used. Those people can shut the offenders down.

It's free and it works. I've been using it for years now.

Thanks,

Santiago

Santiago's Dreamworks Adventure

2007-02-01T18:41:00.000-08:00

What a day!

I've only been waiting for this to come around since just before Thanksgiving. That's when I got the initial call. And I've been a wreck ever since.

Yes, I've worked for some pretty good sized clients before. Law firms. Banks. Computer hardware and software companies. I like these events because the people usually are just uptight enough that I get the chance to really mess with them and they just eat it up.

But this was different.

This was Dreamworks. These guys know how to have a good time and they work at a job that is fun!

At first I thought I was going to be doing strolling magic. This is good. I love doing strolling magic. Then I found out that they wanted a formal show. Okay, I can do that too.

For 200 people.

Hmmm. Okay, that's a bit larger then I usually work with but I can still do that.

Then, it's two shows for 200 people. Hmmm. Okay, stretching my resources a bit but I can still do that.

Then, it's two shows for 100 people each. Okay. I'm more comfortable with that. Can I do the same show both time? Yes. Good. I can definitely go with that.

20 minutes? Hmmm. A bit shorter then I usually do, but I can edit a bit to come up with something that will flow well.

No fire, but they do want *poof*. Poof? Hmmm, I can do that too, but I need to work out some details.

It's been weeks and months of planning, but that's okay. Except they keep making these requests and changes. Okay, I can deal with this, but the closer we get to show time the less likely I'll be able to make modifications.

I settle on a line up. Thanks to the fact that they are filming this and putting it up on monitors half way back into the audience I have the chance to put some of my favorite close up material back into the show. I do this.

I settle on a line up of standards along with my new closer and my big piece is my 2 Ring Linking Rings routine. It's become something of a Masterwork Piece for me, so it has a lot of drama in it. And as much as I love the medieval-iod music I use for it in SCA settings, I change to a different bit of music. I know they are filming this and I know there is a chance that some of the film is going to be used for promotional material on their part so I select a piece of music I know is Royalty Free in order to avoid any problems. Truthfully, I like this bit of music better anyway, but it is modern fantasy sounding so it doesn't work well in SCA settings.

The day comes and I have all my show packed up early. I must kill time. It would do no good for me to be there to early. My contract says that my first show is at 4:00 pm so I plan on being there no later then 3:00. I get there at 2:45.

I'm thinking this is good. Plenty of time to relax, feel out the room and take my time setting up the one effect I'll be doing *poof* in.

Nope. Doesn't work out that way.

For some reason they think my first show is supposed to be at 3:00 pm.

YIKES!

They have a limited amount of time to run this. How fast can I be ready? I tell them "ten minutes to setup my show and ten minutes to get in to costume."

So while I'm setting things up I'm thinking "take out the *poof*." Sorry, but this is delicate stuff and I can't afford to rush it. It only changes the end of one effect a little so I can afford to abandon it.

The room is long and narrow. It's the cafeteria. Not what I was expecting. They gave me the impression that the room would be one where they do presentations. On the other hand, perhaps they do presentations in the cafeteria sometimes. I don't know, but again I just adapt. This is why I select the kinds of effects that I do. My show is highly adaptable and I can perform it almost anywhere.

I work the audience for a bit while the camera crew finishes setting things up. They are going to get me a lot of good, high definition footage. I should have it in a couple of weeks.

Showtime.

I go with my standard opener. I had been toying with a change here but decided to fall back to my standard because it helps me relax and by this point I am a freaking stress monkey. Whatever other impression of calm and professional you get from reading this, remember that under this calm cool exterior beats the heart of a stressed out maniac.

But my standard opener does a couple of things for me. It allows me to see who in the room is going to be worth playing with and it allows me to fall into the flow of my show with little thought. I know myself well enough to know that even if I am stressed out, once I hit the stage all energy goes into the performance and I forget about everything else.

Next I go into my favorite card trick. You all know it. You've all seen it. But here I'm hoping that the footage I get of the effect in close up (because those cameras where rolling) will be worth putting on my site for advertising. We shall see.

Then I go into "story time" and tell my "three monks" story with the three rope effect. The magicians who read this will know the effect as "The Professors Nightmare." After the show was over I had several people tell me that the audience was absolutely enraptured by my story telling. Good. Hopefully that will help make up for the lack of *poof*.

I move on to my musical 2 Rings Linking Ring Routine. (I really need to come up with a better title for the effect since it is something of a "masterwork" piece.) They were the most responsive audience I have ever had for this effect. Applause at every appropriate spot and totally amazed by the end.

I have to admit that I really turned on the energy for this one. So much so that I actually felt my legs trembling! I had to control that while still keeping the energy up. And again, after the show, one of the sound guys came up and told me that he figured I must have been pretty nervous because he could hear my heart through the body mike I was wearing.

Well, yeah, skippy. I was nervous. This is one of my best effects and I am doing it for the people at DREAMWORKS!!! *smile*

I finished off with my "Poe-tic Ribbon." This my recitation of a bit of Edgar Allan Poe (the "Dream within a dream" speech) and the production of a rainbow ribbon from the air. It's a nice bit that rounds out the show.

The applause was damn near thunderous. No *poof* but I got you people. And that's what counts!

Short break, reset my props.

"Santiago? Could you pose for a minute here. One of our artists is drawing a picture of you and we want to get some footage of him doing that while you are inspiring him."

D'OH!

So, fortunately for me I have a few more effects in my table. Learned a long time ago that it's always a good idea to bring more things then you actually need, because the things you actually need are never enough! So I performed that rubber band trick of mine (you all know the one) while they filmed mister Dreamworks Artist Guy (whose name is actually Ryan Savas) drawing pictures of me.

And yes, I did get a copy. (I'll probably put it up in the next day or so.)

So now it's time for the second show.

Only, turns out most of the people came for the first show (more then 100) and few came for the second. I had an audience of only about 30 for the second show.

Okay, adapting again. We bring the energy down a bit and make the show feel more intimate. A bit harder on me because as a smaller crowd they weren't sure if they could respond. But I worked them. And by the end I had them.

So where is everyone? Turns out the most of the people who came to the earlier show were now off in rushes. For those of you that don't know what that means, "rushes" are the daily films that are watched by everyone for editing and content. Dreamworks is in crunch mode finishing the last little bits of the next film "Shrek The Third."

So this was my day at Dreamworks.

Everybody is happy. The agent who booked me for this gig came to see me perform, and he's already talking about other things he wants to book me for. The people at Dreamworks are happy and I may very well hear more from them. There is a chance, albeit a small one, that a clip of my show may end up somewhere in the extras on the "Shrek The Third" DVD. Some sort of "behind the scenes" extra showing how cool it is to work at Dreamworks.

Because you know what?

It is cool. Even if I only got to work there for a day.

Scammers at it again!

2007-01-11T10:38:00.000-08:00

Scammers try any number of ways to get your money. About a year ago I recieved a message which had a number of the tell tale signs of being a scam, but I investigated it just a bit to verify. Basically the message I recieved said someone was interested in hireing me to entertain at an event, and they were willing to pay for my travel, lodging and everything else along with my services. It looked potentially like a large paying gig.

I sent back a proposal and promptly recieved a cashiers check in the mail for several thousand dollars over the amount I quoted.

This is, of course, how the scam actually works. They expect you to call or email them back and say "I'm sorry, but you sent to much money." They then tell you it's alright. They trust you to cash the check and send them back the difference.

Yeah, right.

See, here is the thing. It's all in the timing. If you do this relatively quickly then by the time your bank has managed to verify the funds, it's to late. The check is, of course, a fraud, and the bank will then hold you responsible for all the money including what you sent back to the scammer.

No, I was not caught by this. I never lost a dime, but I did gather enough information in my dealings with them to open an FBI case.

So, I'm putting the word out there. If you happen to get a message like the one below, it is a scam. Don't go there.

-----------

Mr Keyshawn Jaxson , recommended us your company Santiago's Magic.
Below you will find a proforma invoice with the full details of our first order.
Please sign and send back to us by fax or email: proforma_invoice.doc

Thank you in advance, and contact us as soon as you can, with a full offer.
Also let us know if the prices you published here at http://old.pinagalli.org are right or not.

Manager Campbell Nick .
Jaxon Soons LLC, California
Phone: 795-637-3884
Fax: 395-657-9969

Do not trust Chu's Magic!

2006-10-24T21:19:00.000-07:00

I do not trust Chu's Magic!

Why? Because they are SPAMMERS!

I have never bought a single item from Chu's Magic. I never even heard of them until I started recieving advertisements from them. Advertisements for people I've never heard of for material I have no interest in.

The only way they could have gotten my address would be to have bought it from someone else or harvesting it from somewhere.

In any case, SPAMMERS are already annoying enough. Getting SPAM from a business I might have considered doing business with if I had found out about them through legitimate means is not only annoying, but flat out enraging.

I will not do business with Chu's Magic and if you care about your privacy I would suggest that you don't either.

Santiago
Enter a World of Elegant Magic
Santiago's Magic

Where have you been?

2006-09-22T09:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been gone for so long. It's been a busy couple of months.

Right at the beginning of July I was in the middle of producing a theatrical show called "Gothic at Midnight" starring my friend Joshua Kane. Joshua came out and gave us a fantastic performance, and although the audiences weren't nearly as large as I would have liked, the experience was amazing. Joshua taught me a lot about producing shows as well and so next time around things are going to be much better for my star.

He was an absolute champ.

At the very same time I was busy purchasing a house. That's right, the fates are twisted and while my wife and I had literally spent a year looking around at houses, the perfect one didn't fall into our laps until I was so up to my eyeballs in production work that I literally drove myself crazy trying to keep it all running.

Then, of course, was the move itself, which was mostly handled by me since my lady wife was busy working to pay the bills. Though we did get professional movers to get all the furniture over, which was a nightmare in and off itself. If you happen to live in my area (Santa Cruz, CA) and you need to move - do not, under any circumstances, use Bluebird Moving. You have been warned.

As the world has settled out I have been busy getting my contacts back into play. Working the Ren Faire this year, arranging gigs, and generally getting my entertainment business in shape again.

Soon I will also be teaching at a local Arts Academy as well. A place called "The Radiant Life Academy." I will be teaching acting and magic classes. I look forward to it.

So that's the past few months in a nut shell. I promise that I will have some better thoughts on the world of Magic from this side of things soon.

Thanks!

What Impresses You?

2006-06-19T10:43:00.000-07:00

I was considering some of the things that happened at The Dragonslayers event I did this weekend, and I think I'm finally narrowing in on one particular incident that sort of unsettled me.

The Dragonslayers event was a Ren Fair kind of thing and I had a booth which I preformed magic and fortune telling out of. It was fun and I had a good time.

However I knew that I wasn't going to be the only magician who attended the event. One of the other local professionals was there as well. I've known him for a number of years and typically when someone calls me for a kids show I direct them to this performer because he is very good with kids.

He showed up at the event and came in behind one of the audiences I had gathered while I was performing my three rope routine (yes, I know what it's called, but I'm trying to be general here for the lay people in my audience.) which actually works in a fashion most magicians aren't aware of. In fact every magician I've shown it to claims they have never seen this variation, which is why I keep it this way.

After my show was over he approached me and we caught up with each other. We hadn't seen each other in a number of years and the last time that he and I actually even worked a gig together was something like 8 or 10 years ago.

After a few minutes of catching up he pulled out one of the ubiquitous card wallets that magicians are plagued with and proceeded to show me a trick. Now you have to understand that these little care wallets, or as they are often referred to: "packet tricks," are sometimes very problematic. After all, when you pull one of these out, the first and automatic assumption on the part of the spectator is "these must be faked/gimmicked." And very often they are correct.

Okay, admittedly I have one or two of these myself. I stopped buying them years and years ago when I realized the problem with them I just mentioned. But to be perfectly fair, there is one that I still use once in a while. I choose to use it because I feel that the effect is strong enough to outweigh the obvious problems and suspicions.

However this particular effect presented to me was, well, kind of lame. In my opinion anyway. I'm sure that it is probably impressive to some people. I'm certain that it must be impressive to the children who are his primary audience.

What struck me as strange in this case was that he seemed to think that I would be impressed as well!

Now I'm not saying that to somehow brag. That isn't the case at all. Rather what I'm getting at is that when magicians get together to talk shop we aren't usually going to try and impress one another with a "packet trick." It just isn't going to happen. We'll show them to each other to discuss the mechanics and see how clever the creations can be, but trying to impress one another with a "packet trick" is just plain foolishness.

This morning I realized why this bothered me so much. When last he and I worked together, all those years ago, this was the same kind of thing he was doing then. He was doing a number of other things as well, but this was indeed a substantial part of his work. Over the years I have worked hard to expand my repitior and to move away from these kinds of things because they are so common and so "obvious" to me and therefore I assume to my audiences.

That was a long time ago and I'm sorry to see that this performer is still stuck in the world of "packet tricks." I would have thought that he would have moved on from there by now.

Damn.

John Edward is at it again....

2006-06-12T11:27:00.000-07:00

Holy crap. He's on TV again. A new series. "John Edward Cross Country." Now he's going every where to get the audiences.

TiVo caught it for me. I'll be letting TiVo know that was a bad thing. "Bad TiVo. Bad bad TiVo."

In the meantime I decided to watch. Definitely the same old tricks which anyone who picks up their first book of "mental magic" would know. Interestingly enough he has a few new tricks for how to pass the buck. At least they are new tricks to my experience.

Okay, I know I don't need to tell all of you this, but I feel a need to state this anyway.

John Edward is a fraud. He can not "speak with the dead." No one can. He is doing nothing more then a battery of well known linguistic tricks and basic salesmanship skills such as active listening. He is using techniques familiar to magicians all over the world.

Don't fall for this crap. Even when I do it as a magician to entertain you, don't fall for it.

Please.

David Blaine Drowned Alive???

2006-05-11T09:08:00.000-07:00

Since I was asked about my opinion regarding the New York Underwater Bubble Guy, AKA David Blaine, I thought I'd go ahead and make a general post about him.

Personally, I have never liked him. My reasons are fairly straight forward.

When he first appeared on the air waves a few years ago, he was performing his "Street Magic." David is pretty much responsible for the current wave of popularity in this particular field of magic, and while I can't fault him for that, I do have a problem with the impression it has created.

In the same moment as creating the popular movement of "Street Magic" David also convinced a huge segment of America's youth that it would be cool to be a "Street Magician." The only problem is that for the most part they all STINK AT IT! More then any other popularity boom in the magic world that I have had the opportunity to witness, "Street Magic" has led to a higher percentage of "bad magic" then any other type.

Like most magicians, David spent the entire hour doing various small effects while hyping the one "grand illusion" that would be presented at the end of the show. He would levitate himself in the street.

Now, for what it's worth, I know the levitation that he used. I know how to perform it, though I haven't practiced it in the least. And I know that you can get a couple of inches off the ground when you do it. But more about that later.

So, the rest of the TV special David is doing a selection of card tricks, one coin trick and one 'body' trick (a kind of controtion). The entire time his presentation almost always involves him walking up to someone, looking down at his shoes and mumbling something that sounds a bit like "heyyawannaseeeatrick."

Poor presentation, poor presence and nothing at all to make me want to like him.

Now before I start sounding like a bag of sour grapes, let me just say that David's *technical* skills are really impressive. Some of those card manipulations he does are certainly beyond me. He is an extremely good technician. It's his persona that I have problems with.

Then it was time for the grand illusion. He is going to levitate himself on the street in front of people. And he does it! Except that what we all saw on TV and what they saw live WERE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS! That's right, David used a camera trick. The people who were there live saw David come off the ground a couple of inches. On TV we saw him come off the ground by 12 to 18 inches.

Since then every special David has done has followed the same basic format of about four tricks repeated over and over again for different street audiences spliced together with hype for whatever "grand illusion" he is currently doing.

Except that after the levitation he hasn't done another "grand illusion." Instead he has done various kinds of "endurance stunts." So far he is been put into a block of ice for how ever many hours it was (which was done by James Randi years ago when he was still performing regularly by the way), he has been suspended in a box over a river for several days, he has stood on top of a pole for several days and then jumped off into a pile of cardboard boxes and now it's spending time in a bubble of water. YAWN.

Did you know that when he was hanging from the bridge in a box he actually had an active internet connection? There was a big deal about it because a bunch of people kept sending him email telling him how lame the stunt was.

He also had a show in Vegas. A show that opened and closed in less then a week. Why? The audiences were bored. He simply couldn't sustain their interest.

But there is some sense of justice. The "kids" who all want to be "Street Magicians" are getting bored with him as well. At least as far as I can see in the various forums I watch. They are complaining that the stunts are stupid and boring and they want to see magic instead. Not only that, they are starting to realize that David isn't that interesting a person either.

So I have some hope. A tiny flicker of hope anyway. And maybe, just maybe, even David Blaine will start to realize that stunts are not magic and there are better things for him to be doing.

"Gothic at Midnight"

2006-05-08T14:45:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have been gone for a bit. I've been busy. I am preparing to produce a show here in Santa Cruz. My good friend Joshua Kane is coming to do his one man show "Gothic at Midnight."

Want to know more? Of course you do!

Gothic at Midnight
A Tribute to the Masters of the Macabre!

The Demons of Darkness have come to Santa Cruz!

Join us as we cheer away an evening with tales of revenge, madness and despair. Classically trained actor Joshua Kane, inspired by the old-time radio dramas of Orson Welles and Vincent Price, populates the stage with unforgettable characters, bewitching audiences with a devilish sense of fun and whimsy. Audiences will experience a roller coaster ride of terror and laughter.

June 30th, July 1st
8:00 pm
Rio Theater
Downtown Santa Cruz

For more information and to buy your tickets visit:
http://www.wildbabu.com

An award-winning tribute to the Masters of the Macabre drawing from the works of Poe, Dickens, and Bierce, Kane “amuses you with his antics, frightens you with his intensity and charms you with his tales of the fantastic.”
—The Charleston City Paper, Spoleto Festival, SC

“If you have forgotten how good it can be to listen to a real storyteller and be swept up in a story, or if it’s been too long since you experienced the joy of listening to someone tell you a tale that makes your blood run cold, you need to listen to Joshua Kane, a man whose voice is an instrument of delightful terror.”
—Neil Gaiman
author of American Gods, Neverwhere, and Sandman

"Savvy, witty, and spell-binding....
-Peter Straub, bestselling author of Ghost Story

Embracing Masculine Magic

2006-04-07T14:24:00.000-07:00

Recently I went on a rampage regarding the presentation of a card trick by a woman who decided that the best way to keep the attention of her audience was to be dressed like a hooker and to reveal the card by pulling down her top and showing her breast where a duplicate of the card had been stashed.

In the process of the ensuing discussion the point was once again raised that women in magic have a really tough time and that magic has a lot of very heavy handed masculine themes along with having appropriated very important feminine themes.

I'm not here to tell anyone that this isn't the case. Quite the contrary, but I'm also not going to give anyone a lecture about what it means to be a woman in magic. For starters I am not gender equipped to really know.

But a thought did get raised which I feel deserves some consideration.

With the trend towards recognizing the real differences between what women in magic are doing and what men are doing, there has been plenty of focus on women rediscovering the things that are decidedly feminine about magic.

Yet there seems to be no thought whatsoever regarding what is masculine in magic. The assumption is that magic has, all along, been masculine in nature but I think that assumption must be questioned.

Men doing magic have for sometime hijacked feminine themes such as production and restoration. It is clear, when looking at the entire repertoire of magic, that many effects are very feminine in nature and yet it is men who have been doing them.

This got me to thinking that the reason magic seems so unnatural is the fact that performers are crossing over gender lines in a particular way.

Now in the past I have argued that effects are not gender based, but rather routines are. I still stand by that. I do not believe that specific effects are either masculine or feminine, which may seem in contradiction to the premise of this essay, but bear with me and I think you will see that this isn't the case.

I am going to use one of the classic effects as my example and see what kinds of conclusions can be drawn from it. My choice for this is the "Sawing" illusion.

Now right off the bat we can already see that this might very well be a definitely masculine piece. After all, it is all about what a man is forcing his female assistant to endure. Or is it?

Historically the piece was originally performed by a man who was sawing another man in half. Admittedly this didn't last long, but it did start out that way. So from that alone we can safely assume that at least the conscious attempt was not intended to be one of masculine authority asserting itself over that which is feminine.

But then why the change? It happened almost immediately. So much so that almost no one ever remembers that it didn't start out that way!

Yet when the change did occur there was an immediate reaction which had to be significant enough to let this mode of presentation continue. The audience responded to it much more strongly. Why?

Could it be that on a certain level they understood that destroying this woman was somehow wrong? A violation of the natural order of things? Perhaps.

But let us look further into this effect.

It isn't complete until the victim is restored. Healed. If the premise holds true, then this effect holds a balance of both masculine and feminine themes as healing is very definitely associated with a feminine perspective in our culture.

It took Richiardi Jr. to bring this effect into a vastly unbalanced state by doing the illusion without restoring his victim; his own daughter. The audience sat horrified and left hanging in limbo waiting for what they knew should happen but never did! And without that healing restoration at the end, he produced real horror in his audience. Which was his goal!

So what does this really tell us?

I think it points to a true idea about magic. That truly good magic is balanced between destructive and creative perspectives. Or masculine and feminine ones.

There is almost a kind of Yin Yang approach to every effect. A card is lost and then found. A rope is cut and then restored. It may very well be possible to see every effect as having a destructive beginning and a restorative ending. Or at the very least a large balance of them.

In recent years women have been reclaiming their role in magic. For this I am grateful. I even do my small part by teaching a female student in the art. In this headlong rush of women re-entering this world there has been a lot to learn both for the female magician and the male.

I am a child of the era of Women's Lib to a certain extent. I was raised by my mother operating as a single parent for many years and there are many behaviors and standards that I hold to which I can directly attribute to being raised by a strong female figure. I am also very aware that I am not alone in this. I have observed many of the same standards among male peers who grew up in similar circumstances as mine. We know a little something about "feminism" from an honest male perspective.

But one thing that troubled me over the years is "radical feminism." Growing up I did have the opportunity to observe many women for whom the words "all men are scum" was a kind of constant mantra. So much so that even some of the girls I dated in my high school years would make the same comment and follow it up immediately with "but you're different" when they realized that I was still standing there.

As you might imagine this generated a certain amount of confusion on my part as well as a certain amount of discomfort and even out right dislike. I told off any number of them for being so short sighted that they would mouth such a slogan without spending any real time thinking about it's source or why they were saying it in the first place.

From points similar to this have grown "masculinism" movements similar to "feminism." Men celebrating their "masculinity." Now before you go off thinking I'm talking about various sorts of hunting and fire related events I want to point out that I'm thinking more of an intellectual appreciation of what it means to be a man in these times. Those "wilderness man" type retreats have their place I'm sure, but it's never been one I've felt a need to embrace.

So what does all this have to do with magic?

Well, I've begun to wonder if men have lost their way in magic as much as women have. Do men really embrace the seemingly destructive urges of magic? Do we really need to set things on fire or cut them up in order to appreciate the masculine side of the art?

Is it possible that we've somehow given up a noble aspect in favor of a more basic one?

There was a time when a true look at what it was to be a man meant something closer to what we think of as "gentleman." A real man, a gentleman, was someone who embodied nobility, dignity, grace, intelligence, chivalry, courtesy and honor.

Gentlemen engaged each other with dignity and grace. Their power was measured not by the things they could destroy but by the things they had control over, starting most importantly with themselves.

It is true that the things we can destroy we have control over, but at what price? We seem to have given up displaying our power over something in a different less obvious manner in favor of simply saying "see I control this thing because I destroy it *and* bring it back!"

So perhaps the question we masculine magicians need to ask ourselves is "what is it to be a real man?" Take magic out of the question for a while and consider just what a "real man" is.

Do we really think that a "real man" is one with destructive tendencies? One who thinks nothing of shoving a woman around and being rude to the people who are paying attention to him? Does a "real man" need to be pushing people around at all?

I might offer an answer of "no" to these questions. Generally we don't think of this as being a "real man." We think of this as being a jerk. Or worse.

Or perhaps a "real man" is someone who treats everyone with kindness and dignity? Is a "real man" someone who is secure enough in themselves as a person first and a man second that they need not always be the one in charge? Does a "real man" not only recognize his essential masculinity but also recognize and respect it in other men?

Consider the issue of magic again as part of the equation.

Would you really think that a female magician sawing a man in half would work? Would you consider it a "novelty?" If so, why? Answer that and then consider your answer and what it might actually mean.

I think it is entirely possible that we have lost our way. Women have certainly become over encumbered by images of beauty and restrictions of expected behavior over the years. They have needed to break out and I think that they are achieving that break out.

However, along the way I think we have over looked the possibility that men have become over encumbered by a set of expectations which can be just as debilitating. Men have to be strong and rational because that is what we are told to be by the same kinds of societal sources that women have been receiving their mixed messages from.

And whatever direction society goes, so to does art.

So now I encourage you to reconsider what you see as masculine and feminine, not just in your magic, but in your everyday surroundings. I think you will begin to see that many of the things expected of all of us are artificial at best.

Okay, does this mean that we should all give up our "Sawing" illusions, or our "Sword Through Neck" or whatever else which seems excessively violent, and therefore may be in danger of being excessively "masculine?" No, I don't think so.

But I do think that we need to reconsider our attitudes and expectations when it comes to these kinds of effects and what kind of impression they have on audiences.

Where this will take us, I do not know. What I do know is that by thinking about it we can not help but be taken somewhere.

This is merely a first step.

Turning "Tricks"

2006-03-13T09:42:00.000-08:00

I read various forums on magic. This everyone knows. I post on them as well when I can, but this time I am utterly unable to think of what to comment.

Well, that isn't true. I can think of what to comment, I simply can't think of a tactful way to do it.

Last night, just before going to bed I checked in on one of those forums that I watch and discovered a link to a short video clip of young lady doing a card trick.

Except that this was more along the lines of "bad magic" combined with "soft porn." Seriously.

This lady is reasonably attractive looking, but to my eye appeared to be deliberately made up and dressed up to look like a hooker. At least that is what I'm hoping because if this is the way she usually appears then I would strongly suggest a fashion consultant.

She performed one of the most obvious card forces on the face of the planet, mainly because it's clear that someone told her "if you wave the deck around really fast people can't see what you are doing" and she took that as advice rather then a warning about presentation.

Once the card was forced upon the spectator she pauses for a second and half and then says "I won't try to read your mind but instead I'll just reach down here...." and she pulls down her leather-iod bodice from her left breast and shows a miniature copy of the card which just barely covers over her nipple.

"Is this your card?" she asks.

Sigh.

I am utterly disgusted.

Aside from the obviously tacky nature of the clip, the magic itself is pathetic. The revelation at the end is lame, ham fisted and completely pointless. (No jokes about the point being hidden behind the card please.)

Starting with the card force. As mentioned above she is using a method which should be smooth and clean. In most peoples hands it is, and as such is virtually undetectable. It is not a method I use personally, but not because it isn't good, only because I have no need of the method for any of my current effects. If I had an effect where I needed to force a card on someone I would seriously consider this method. When done right it is extremely effective.

Presentationally she is clearly leaning on the idea that waving her arms in the air makes it impossible for the audience to focus on the deck of cards and this covers the action she needs to do in order to accomplish the force.

Okay, so by this point she has managed to force a card on the spectator. Badly, but the job is done.

Next she gets the card returned to the deck and then does nothing.

Nothing.

Okay, maybe that doesn't mean anything to anyone else, but if you watch me or most any other magician you will find that when we do something that involves returning the card to the deck, we also then proceed to mix the deck up. Shuffle, cut, whatever.

We do this for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is to reinforce the idea that the card is truly lost in the deck. Some magicians will even say "... and now I'll lose the card in the deck."

Why? Because you can't find a card if it isn't first lost!

No, little miss magic hooker just holds the deck and pulls down her top to show off her breast, and oh yeah, a miniature duplicate of the card.

"I'm not going to try and read your mind..." she says. Well no kidding. Really? Probably on some level she realizes that dressed as she is the card is not what is on the spectators mind anyway.

"Instead I'll just reach down here...." making your eyes really focus on what you've been looking at the entire time mister spectator man.

"Is this your card?" First response? Yes it is and thank you for letting me look at your boobies.

Second response? Nope. Because if it was my card it would, at the very least, BE THE SAME SIZE!!!! That is obviously a different card with the same value on it so I now know that you just made me pick that card from the deck. Thank you for letting me look at your boobies.

Women in magic have a really tough time. I get that. Magic as a form of entertainment has long been dominated by men and as such has developed strong masculine themes.

So what ends up happening is that many women coming into the magic world are taught by men and have male perspectives presented to them as if they were cannon. Sadly most women, when starting out, don't even realize this problem and the result is presentations exactly like this one.

I can only hope that someone will point out to her exactly the problem with this. I would do it myself but there doesn't seem to be a good way to contact her.

Not only that, but upon doing two seconds of research, I have discovered that this woman is, in fact a model who does nude work. And while I don't mean porn (because her profile suggests otherwise), it wouldn't surprise me any to discover that porn could be involved.

So it appears that being a magician isn't a goal. For her it is a tool to help set herself apart in the modeling world. I suppose I can understand that. Just like any other business world you need to have something that makes you different from all the rest.

I just wish someone would teach her to turn her "tricks" into magic.

Tim "Santiago" Converse Joins the Ranks of The ICBM

2006-02-22T13:32:00.000-08:00

San Francisco/Santa Cruz - February 18th, 2006.

Local Magician Tim "Santiago" Converse, while attending the West Coast Inner Circle of Bizarre Magic gathering in San Francisco, was admitted to the very exclusive ranks of that magic fraternity.

The Inner Circle of Bizarre Magic, founded by Joe Cabral, is devoted to bringing the art of story telling and theater back into the art of the performance magician. Although the ICBM has existed for about fifteen years now, it is only allowed a very small number of people into it's actual membership.

Every year, in Connecticut, the ICBM holds an annual gathering where magicians from many different disciplines gather to discuss their art and share their knowledge with each other. Often this gathering provides entertainment to the public as part of the festivities and that entertainment is always of a most unusual and fantastic nature.

The ICBM has many noted magical names among it's members including such Las Vegas luminaries as Eugene Burger, Jeff McBride and Max Maven.

"Being invited to join their ranks in an extreme honor," says the Santa Cruz Magician.

For more information about "Santiago's Magic" visit the web at:

http://www.santiagosmagic.com

Who-dini

2006-02-21T16:29:00.000-08:00

The other day I was sitting in a friends living room and he happened to mention that he met someone at a convention I might be interested to know. A writer by the name of Paul Dini.

Now as it happens Paul writes for many of the animated series I have loved to watch over the years.

But what caught my interest in this particular moment was that someone else in the room, upon hearing the name "Paul Dini" automatically thought that my friend was speaking of some magician.

It's that dreaded "-dini" addition to the name. Everyone thinks that and they certainly have a reason to. For how long now have people been adding the "-dini" extension to their names in order to say "Hey I'm a magician."

One wonders if the Oxford English Dictionary, that bastion of language, will eventually include "-dini" as a suffix meaning "the magician."

Certainly this is an honest mistake to make. Look at this history at play here to begin with. The man everyone knows as Houdini was actually named Eric Weis. He changed his name to Harry Houdini in deference to the two magicians who had the greatest impact on his life; Harry Keller and Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin. He took the name "Houdin" and added the "i" on the end in the mistaken belief that it would mean something like "Son of Houdin."

Isn't it ironic then that generations of magicians have named themselves after a man who named himself after other men?

Well I think it is. Imagine what some of those famous magicians might have called themselves if they had followed the pattern.

Eugene Burger -Eugeni! Hmmm, interesting thought.

Teller - Tellini? Sounds like a talk show.

Penn - Pennini. Okay, I think I've seen that on the menu of an Italian Restaurant.

David Copperfield - Davini! Oh wait. He actually did that when he was a kid.
Well, I suppose if there is anything to be learned it's one of the same lessons I have gone on about before.

Develop your own character.

Develop your own style.

Develop your own personality. (Especially if you don't have one.)

There are enough amature "-dini's" out there. I don't think we need any more.

I wonder if Paul ever gets asked to do a card trick?

Tim "Santiago" Converse
You Are Invited to Enter a World of Elegant Magic
Santiago's Magic

The Act of Destruction and Creation

2006-02-09T16:13:00.000-08:00

It is certainly human nature to destroy. It is also human nature to create. We forget that.

We assign "creation" to specific groups of people. Women create. Artists create. Builders create.

But in doing this we also block ourselves from accepting the role of creator.

"Men don't create, women do."

"I don't have any artistic talent to create."

"I'm not good with tools so I can't build or fix anything."

Denying that side of things makes us weaker. Destroys us.

Destruction and Creation are often the very heart of what the Magician is about.

Things are "Cut and Restored", "Torn and Restored" or in some fashion destroyed and reformed from the parts, the ashes, the remains.

So why do so many magicians focus upon the act of destruction but give so little thought to the act of creation? You've seen it without thinking about it I'm sure.

Consider the "Cut and Restored Rope."

Magician's cut that rope with great zeal and enthusiasm. They use huge knifes or scissors and they struggle as if cutting the rope were hard. All done in the name of "convincing the audience of the reality of the rope being cut."

Destroying it is somehow difficult. And so much effort, so much focus is placed on this act of destruction that the assumption must be that the act of creation or restoration is equally as difficult.

But when the time comes to restore the rope it is treated as if there could be nothing easier. It is handled with an almost casual, off hand manner, as if such things are almost common place.

Is there magic in this? Is there really a sense of magic to be gained? Perhaps.

Or could the thought simply be "Well, I'm so powerful a magician that restoring this rope is child's play!" Indeed it would seem that this is very much the thought that crosses the minds of these magicians.

However if that is the case and you are that powerful a magician then why was cutting the rope so hard in the first place? Haven't we always been told that the act of destruction is always easier then the act of creation?

Consider what kind of impact the "Cut and Restored Rope" might have if it were approached in this fashion.

Cutting the rope is easy. Casual. Yet another act of sad destruction in a world which is always suffering such things. A casualty of common place proportions.

But to restore it. Ah, there is magic. With gentle strength the magician picks the ends up and weaves them together right before your eyes. It takes focus and concentration. It takes control. It takes real power. Something mysterious is happening that shouldn't be.

It takes an act of creation, of restoration, of healing.

As a magician think about it. Try it. Consider your "Cut and Restored Rope" routine (or some other "Torn and Restored" type routine) from this light. Try changing the way you perform the routine to conform to the idea that the hard part is the restoration of the rope.

You don't even necessarily need to change the words you speak. Just change the way you relate to the object you are using your magic to restore and see what kind of impact it has on your audience.

You'll feel the difference I'm sure.

And maybe it's for you and maybe it isn't. But you won't know until you try.

In that effort you will destroy your old perceptions and create new ones. You will think about what you have accomplished in the minds of your audience.

You may just give them a deeper feeling of wonder then they've felt before.

And that is a true act of Creation and Destruction.

Read a Book!

2006-02-08T21:01:00.000-08:00

My mother used to say that to me all the time.

“Read a Book!”

“Go outside and play!”

Anything to prevent me from being sucked into the television.

Of course now I read all the time.

I’ll bet you do to. After all, you’re a magician. Your reading books and pamphlets all the time right?

But what else do you read?

If you had to stop and think about that one, then you may be having the same revelation I had not long ago.

Before I got involved in magic I read all the time. I read Science Fiction and Fantasy mostly. The occasional Horror or Mystery. I read them all for pleasure.

Then I got into magic and gradually I was reading fewer and fewer novels and more and more magic books, magazines and instructions. I got pretty darn good at all the stuff I spent time with as well.

But what use have I for telling the story of ‘Sam the Bellhop’ or ‘Diamond Jack’?

Don’t get me wrong. These are good stories and for the right performer they are hysterical. I remember watching Doc Eason do his version of ‘Sam the Bellhop’, which just killed me. But I digress.

So I was learning more and more magic and I ran across this thing called ‘Bizarre Magic’. I was at that stage where I was just absorbing everything I could, so I checked into it and I found that it really appealed to me.

Okay, so I wasn’t sure about some of the darker aspects that the whole field seemed to be filled with. I wasn’t sure I wanted to deal with all the ghosts and goblins and stuff. I don’t believe in that stuff, but I knew that I had read some really good books about it. Like there was this one..... but I digress.

Well, I found, after some open minded digging, that the real goal of Bizarre Magic is story telling. Good story telling, and I knew that I liked a good story. There was this movie that I saw not to long ago..... but I digress.

So there you have it. The trick is story telling. I liked that a lot. I sat down at my computer with a deck of cards, determined to write a story using some particular new card sleight I had just learned.

My brain locked! I couldn’t write a word. I had no referent to work from.

No books, short stories, recent movies. Nothing.

I had so completely immersed myself in magic books and magazines that I had lost touch with popular culture and just didn’t know what to write. I hadn’t developed a character, I just knew that I wanted to write stories for my effects.

After all, what audience would really want to hear a story about how I learned to do a “Luben Gearing Pass”? (Thanks for teaching me that one Mr. Mruzik.)

What is a “Luben Gearing Pass” you ask? Well I could tell you, but then I would be digressing.

And then the voice of my mother came flooding back.

“Read a BOOK!”

Not a magic book. A novel. A story. Mystery. Fiction. History. It didn’t matter. Just something other then magic.

So what’s the connection?

Check out a Bizarre Magicians reading list sometime. You’ll find that unlike most other magicians, the Bizarrist is reading books about history, culture, mysticism, religion and a fair amount of trivia as well.

The Bizarrist is getting ideas. He/She is collecting them from all kinds of places.

Check out the music a Bizarrist is listening to as well. You’ll probably find lots of interesting stuff there.

The point is this: Immerse your self in more then just magic books, videos and magazines. You aren’t going to find stories there.

You’ll find them in music and movies and novels.

You’ll find them in history, science and religion.

You’ll find them in popular culture.

In other words: “GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY!”

“READ A BOOK!”