An0n

The Journeymen

Well guys, the journeyman embarks upon yet another journey. I leave for France tomorrow evening. This will be my last blog post for another two weeks...After which I will have a storm of posts flooding this journal. I will be in France for 12 days, testing out the affects of a language barrier on magic. When I return, you guys will have a new movie to watch as well, hopefully...

School is over now, and the only thing I have left to do during the days is practice more. I have some exciting news, as well...I recieved a few XCM gifts for graduation (I am a graduate of the Class of 2006 from Marshall County High School, and I have no school until the end of August, biaatchhhh First, I got a Joe Porper card clip from my girlfriend, and I love it. It's awesome, and it keeps my cards so nice and flat. Second, on its' way is my new Dan and Dave "System" DVD. And lastly, my friend Wil (from Josh and Wil.com) bought me the "Self-Tying Shoelaces" trick from Penguin Magic. I can't wait to try it out in France.

But that's all I have for now, I'll see you all in two weeks! Au revoir!

05.12.2006

Hey guys. Well, as most of you know, the presentation went great. I had a perfect presentation, and lost only 8 points for going over my time limit, of which I went over 2 minutes. Haha, I knew I would. But nevertheless, I was pleased, and the 92 brought my GPA up 5 points. I now have a good, solid B average in the class. So I was happy.

This month, I've really gotten involved with my two-handed cuts. I'm working on "Sybil #947" from Kevin Ho, Ragnorak 1 and 2, the KFC false cut and different variations, and I'm trying to tackle the difficult "Squeeze" cut by Darren. So I'm practicing a lot.

Averaging about 6 hours of practice time at home a day now, not including what I do during the school day.

This past week, I ordered some new cards! I got 8 new decks of bikes, all old-school backs...I got some thrush back, cupid back, safety back, and some other back that I don't know... In addition to those 8 decks, I purchased a new deck of ghosts, and a new deck of the Black Split Spades, which are bad ass.

Not much else to say, but I'll keep you all up to date until I leave for France. The countdown is up to 13 days left, and I'll be keeping a journal in France. I will also be completing some footage for "The Journeymen". So, I'll post up a bit later about all that.

Until then,

Peace.

The Presentation

It's official...I'm going to throw up. I have less than 10 hours until I'll be performing the magic routine that will decide my grade in Senior English, and my final GPA. This is as life or death as magic gets for me right now, and it's not fun. I'm practicing my butt off, working on my routine, and making adjustments so that I can get it under the 15 minute time limit. It's going to be rough. Here's a copy of what I have so far on my outline:

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SETUP

-have volunteer "chain" me to a chair using the handcuffs from Barry. Sit, acting rather uncomfortable, in the chair, and begin presentation talk.

There was a great mentalist named Joseph Dunninger that once said, "For those who believe, no explanation is necessary; for those who do not, none will suffice." My goal today is to make you all believe. (*Slip chains)

I chose magic for my senior project for several reasons (cutting deck, shuffling, manipulating cards, et cetera)...one being, because it is easy to get others involved in. I can get a stage volunteer with a blink of an eye. So class involvement was just another perk. Another reason I chose it was because of an interest I've had since I was very young. I recieved a magic kit from my Grandfather when I was about 12. I have always loved magic, I just haven't always practiced the art. However, the biggest reason I had for choosing magic for a senior project was because of the impact that it can have on people. To be able to do magic is to hold a great power in your hands; the power of influence. It's amazing that no matter how b ..

05.01.2006

Today was awesome...I got sick, and stayed home from school....that's not the awesome part, because it sucked because my throat hurts like a mother. However, I did go to the doctor's office, and there were some people sitting in the waiting room. I had a deck of cards with me, (as always) and was shuffling them around. The gentlemen to my right said something about it, and how he "saw a guy do a trick called the three card monte". He asked me if I'd ever heard of it, and I said, "actually, I do a trick similar to that with two cards...fools 'em every time..." The perfect setup. I went ahead with two-card monte, and absolutely floored him and his wife. It was awesome, he had a great reaction. I asked him, "So, do you think I'd actually be good enough to switch those cards?" (with kind of a sarcasm to my voice, implying that I wasn't...) to which he replied, "No, I don't think so, not at all." And I said, "Go ahead and turn your hand over..." He just flipped out. Started laughing histerically, and said, "I woulda just lost a hundred bucks! I woulda bet a hundred bucks those damn cards weren't switched! How'd you do that? I was watching you the whole time!" It was awesome. I love it so much...just another example of how powerful magic can be. You all have the power to affect someone's emotions in a phenomenal way. Use it.

04.28.06

Well, I haven't posted in a while, so I figured today would be a great day to do so...

Today was amazing...it was a "free-day" during classes today, and all the students were allowed to roam around and do whatever we wanted. Different rooms sponsored different activities...one had coffee and donuts, one had music, one had gaming, etc; However, I chose to spend the majority of my free day in the upper-lobby of the commons, doing magic for random people. It just so happened that there was a ping-pong tournament going on at the same time. Well, I was standing around, talking to someone, when all of the sudden, I head "You're the guy who does magic tricks! SHOW ME THE TRICK WITH THE ARM THINGY!!!!!" I turned around, to see someone I've never met in my life shouting at me to show him magic tricks. Directly behind him, I see a friend of mine, who apparently told him about stigmata. So, I proceeded to show him several different tricks. I started off with two card monte, which he went nuts over. At this point there were about 5 or 10 people around me. After this, I showed him a few ambitious card tricks, and the crowd slowly began to grow, to about 15 people...then I moved on to Stigmata. The guy went absolutely NUTS. He ran around, screaming, jumping up and down saying, "OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD!!!" It was GREAT. The absolute best reaction I've ever had to a trick, ever. After that, there was a full circle of people around me, for about another 20 minutes...Probably 30 people, watching me do magic, when they could be doing anything else. I kept hearing mutters like, "This guy is a freak!" or "He's amazing..." or, my least favorite..."I think Jesus has come back!" To which, I frowned and told him that I was most certainly NOT jesus, and that I only worked to glorify christ, no ..

04.20.2006

Ladies and Gentlemen, I proudly present to you

The Journeymen

The Journeymen - 19.04.2006

Hey guys, how's it going? I just wanted to make a short update, and give you all a heads up on my newest video which should come out later today, The Journeymen. As I am on my "Journey" to become a great card manipulator, I thought it best to show the "Journeyman" in action. So, I have tried my hand at street magic. Coming Soon...

04.18.2006

Well, I feel as though it is time to try to show how I have improved over the last couple of months. Here are a few of my pics from back when I first started, trying to do simple thumb fans:

^^ Notice how the cards are very scattered, the fan is not round or smooth, and the spread is not even. Here is another example:

^^ This one is even worse, if that's even possible. Haha...now, here is what my fans look like when I do them today:

*Click on "Ghostfan4.jpg" at bottom (See Attachments...)*

*Click on "Ghostfan5.jpg" at bottom (See Attachments...)*

^^This is probably my best fan that I've made.

*Click on "Ghostfan6.jpg" at bottom (See Attachments...)*

These are probably some of the best fans I've ever made. Just goes to show what hours of practice can do. I am getting to where I practice almost 7 to 8 hours a day, which includes in-school practice time. Not to mention time that I actually perform for random people or family and friends. This is what I do now, and I love it. I'm really starting to consider a career in entertainment. Maybe using my music somehow and incorporating magic into it. I don't know. But I wish I had started about 10 years ago.

Most recently, I have been working on two-han ..

The Journey Change - 04.18.2006

Well, for those of you who haven't read my post in the forums, I have created another new trick, called The Journey Change. The trick is very visual, and very fast. Here's the effect:

A spectator chooses a card, and after showing the bottom card, the magician quickly makes the card change into the chosen card with a flick of the wrist.

This is only one of many effects that you can do. If you wish, you can simply continue changing the cards over and over again! You don't have to worry about double lifts to hide the "vanished" card, like with the rub vanish. Watch the video to see for yourself. The change is very quick, with little cleanup at the end. Think Axis change with no cleanup.

I hope you all enjoy this new colour change, and I will see you in the forums!

04.14.2006

Well, it's Good Friday (for my religious affiliations, at least) and I've started a fast. I'm not sure how long I'll go, but my goal is to slowly get away from my desires, and be able, through control of my own will power, to let go of my wants for unnecessary things (i.e. junk food, et cetera). I am a wholehearted believer that if you cannot control your own mind, you will have no ability to influence those around you. How can I affect people with my magic if I cannot even gain control over my own emotions? I plan on going no less than three days without food, drinking only water, and I'm not sure how long I might go after that. I've gone for about 30 hours so far without food. This is a religious, as well as a scientific fast, to test the whether or not one has the ability to overcome his or her own will power. In concordance with the religious aspect of the fast, it will help me to center my thoughts and emotions, so that I may better focus my time. I believe that as my savior suffered for me during these three days leading up for easter, I may too suffer, in honor of his sacrifice. I just wanted to clear up my intentions for a fast for anyone who may have questioned my reasoning. I'm not trying to be like Blaine or anything, trust me. I'm not that much of an egoist. LoL...With that in mind, I'll continue to today's post.

Today was cool. For some reason, most classes were free days, so I spent most of my time compiling a list of all colour changes, flourishes, and card tricks that I know. This way, I can start routine-building for my presentation. But the coolest thing was going back and, to refresh my memory, re-learning and practicing all my older tricks, from when I first started.

I got a chance to sit next to a foreign exchange student in French class, so I s ..