Marvelous Magic

Been on a magic Break once more

2009-10-22T05:40:00.000-07:00

It's becoming hard for me this past few days to get msyelf to practice magic. It seems like I don't have the energy to do it mainly because I can't find myself to explore magic.

It's really hard to do some magic especially when the mind is stressed with other things in life. Maybe I can use some magic to get the stress off but maybe I'll just have to wait again to be bitten by the magic bug.

Until then,

Of calamities and reliefs

2009-09-30T04:47:00.000-07:00

For those who want to have an idea how the storm wreaked havoc on our country you could check this photo set.

With the recent calamity that hit our country it was a relief that all the people I know who live in those affected areas are well and good. Though some may have experienced damage and loss of property, they were still thankful that they were still alive and hopefully they could start all over again and recover from this tragedy.

What happened to us is just another reminder that everything that we have and everything that we could see could vanish so fast like a coin in a magician's hand. However when things vanish in nature's hand, the effects are devastating and irreversible.

Well what happened over the past few days reminded me on how life could be so mean but even if that's the reality it can't be denied that life is still beautiful. Especially that we see that in the worst times true kindness just shows. It's just like watching a magic trick; you see an effect though you know there's trickery involve yet you enjoy it because you are entertained.

If only magic were real, I would have done something to make it easier for those who have been hit hard by the storm. For now the only magic I can do is bring back at least the smiles to their faces.

For donations please visit redcross.org.ph

Exposure and Explanation

2009-09-03T01:36:00.000-07:00

I have been following a discussion on Club Magicians, regarding the Masked Magician. It has been an intense discussion among those who simply hate him to death and those who hate what he has done.

I think it all comes down to this quote:

"For those who believe no explanation is necessary, for those who do not none will suffice"

-Joseph Dunninger

Magic is a mystery; a secret that is very powerful that makes you believe the possibility of the impossible. Trying to explain it would make it less mysterious thus less powerful for those who have seen it. The less one tries to know how it's done the more it becomes mysterious.

Sad to say but some people, when they see magic they feel cheated (thanks to some magicians who have over sized egos). Anyway this is why maybe a lot of people seek for explanation and some people prey on that desire to be enlightened (i.e. The Masked Magician)and to make things worst some would even brand magicians as fakes and cheats so that the people's sympathy would be on the exposers.

Yes magic would be cheating to some but in my opinion magic is just like a movie with all the fancy special effects. You know that it isn't possible but you were made to suspend your disbelief and the same is with magic. The suspension of disbelief is what makes magic entertaining.

So instead of actually using magic to inflate one's ego and to fool audiences. We should use it to make the audience feel magical. Explain the magic and empower the audience. In this way they won't feel bad and they would remember your magic in a good way.

Until then,

Want to Improve on Magic? Ditch the DVD and Buy a Book

2009-08-25T04:53:00.000-07:00

In today's age of Internet and other Multimedia such as DVD and video downloads, Magic is much easier to learn now. The problem however is that less time is being dedicated by the learner to actually polish the things he/she have learned.

That's why in my opinion studying magic with a book is really better than most magic in multimedia format. Unlike most DVDs nowadays that are one trick ponies, books always have more to learn and most of the time gives better insights than most video downloads or DVDs out there.

Another thing is that when you buy a book on magic you are sure that it was written by someone who has the experience in magic. Unlike those videos which almost anyone even some inexperienced teenagers could make. I read reviews of some DVDs which were made by inexperienced people and my it was really bad.

As I have mentioned earlier most DVDs teach one-trick ponies that teaches how the trick is done rather than how to do it. With exception of very few DVDs that really teaches down to the smallest detail and advance handling, I think that most DVDs are just exaggerated to be marketed for some people's profits.

So now which would you choose? A one trick pony DVD easy to learn, hard to perform or a book that takes effort to learn but gives better insight for a better performance.

Until then,

Putting the Context in your Effects

2009-08-19T03:08:00.000-07:00

This is maybe one of the most important lessons I learned from Joshua Jay's book. Putting an effect in context is something that most magicians,especially beginners, miss. The bad thing about this too is that even soem seasoned magicians actually fail to do so (refer to this post).

In my opinion what makes most effects out of context is that most of the time we stick to the methods up to the patter and presentation that we forget to make an effect our own. Quoting Bruce Lee he would always say about martial arts is that one should absorb what's essential and make it your own. In other words when we learn an effect we should think on how to perform it right to suit our own style and when we should perform it.

Going back of putting an effect out of context, I remember myself when I was still beginning with magic, I would actually copy almost every word that ws written in the book. In doing this I get the most bored reactions from the audiences and that really is the worst feeling a magician could get.

Well copying an effect up to the level of word per word isn't the only way to put an effect out of context. Another way is that adding the wrong and unecessary things and performing it at the wrong type of audiences. I've seen a lot of very powerful effects being performed by seasoned magicians that ended badly and boringly, and honestly I rather watch an amateur magician perform mediocre effects with the right audiences.

I hope that with this new learning, I would see improvement not only me but also with others who have read this blog.

Until then,

Review: Magic The Complete Course by Joshua Jay

2009-08-06T02:51:00.000-07:00

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Honestly I thought that it would be impossible for me to actually procure this book from where I live. Fortunately thought yesterday as if through some stroke of magic my feet just lead me to a bookstore and as soon as I turn into the next corner there it was at the top shelf along with other books not related to magic.

I bought the book without hesitation and hurried home to read it. I was surprised on how much insight Joshua Jay has regarding magic and every little thing about it. I really liked how he is actually bringing the "context" into the effect.

Now regarding the book, I should say that it is really a very useful book not only for beginners but also for the more experienced ones. The effects on the book though not all are new actually gives a new and better dimension to what we could say as outdated effects.

With clear photos detailing how an effect is done, the book makes it easier to learn the said effects. What I really like about how Joshua Jay teaches the effects is that besides putting it in the proper "context", he provides the script thus giving the reader an idea on how the effect should be performed.

The organization of the effects we could say is situational which is quite different from most books which are categorical. I say this is a great help for those who actually find it hard to choose which tricks to perform. In addition to this Joshua Jay actually suggests a number of tricks to perform for a show, including preparations and the flow of the whole show.

I'm still about to view the DVD that comes with the book and hopefully I could write a review on it sooner.

Until then,

The King of Pop Shows Some Magic

2009-07-27T04:31:00.000-07:00

I was on my way to my work and I saw something being played on a video store: Michael Jackson's HIStory was being played and I stopped for a while and watched a few songs and I was really impressed how beautiful and amazing his dance skills are but what amazed me the most is that he was able to do more than just sing and dance. He was able to do some magic.

Here's an excerpt from his live performance of Thriller:

Now that's some serious magic from the King of Pop himself. There is another one wherein he vanished from the chair but I can't find a video of that yet. All I could say is that whenever he sings, dance or does magic everyone is captivated and no one could escape the magic of the King of Pop.

Until then Moonwalker,

Being active again at The Club

2009-07-24T03:05:00.000-07:00

Well I've been on hiatus for almost a month and during that time I missed a lot especially at Club Magicians. I really missed a lot of people there especially my friends who are my regular chatmates as well. Until recently though I have been hanging around the club again and I could still feel the magic and the best part is that I still keep on making new friends who are as helpful as ever.

With almost 2000 members. Club Magicians is growing to be one of the biggest websites for magicians. I'm proud of being a member of it because it doesn't serve as a forum only but a social networking site as well. I think every magician should come join the site to experience real magic.

Click on the banner below and start experiencing the magic.

Visit Club Magicians

Until then,

A good place to check before buying that trick

2009-07-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

Whenever I buy stuff online it has always been a problem if what I'm going to buy is really worth it. No matter how good the product according to its description, it could still be deceiving especially nowadays that most products only show what they want you to see.

So in order to avoid this I make sure to read reviews of the product before purchasing it. However not all the time there are reviews for magic products on certain online shops and this leaves me thinking if I should buy the product or not.

Until recently I discovered this website that provides reviews for magic products. They have reviews for a lot products and their reviewers are really seasoned magicians like Jeff McBride and Eugene Burger. I think if one needs an honest review and you really value your money you should take time to see this site.

Thinking inside the box

2009-07-21T22:48:00.000-07:00

Honestly what really got me into magic were the big stage illusions that I see on TV. During the past years however there was really as we could say a decline in the appreciation of these illusions primarily because people were getting into the fad that the smaller the better. Well this may not be the case especially now that people seems to appreciate them again. To prove this here are some videos from the latest season of America's Got Talent and see how box illusions are making a comeback.

Drew Thomas

Jay Mattioli

Nathan Burton

Now tell that you aren't impressed by these. Anyway these videos made me study again some of my books and see if there is a possibility for me to perform my own box illusion. Hopefully someday I'll be able to do impressive illusions such as the ones above.

Until then,

On Hiatus trying to get back ASAP

2009-07-14T03:26:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I have written something on this blog. I must say that working at night really takes out the creative juices in me that helps me in writing and expressing myself here.

Anyway, I'm still not sure with this but hopefully soon I'll get back my regular posting again. I hope you still keep in touch with this blog. For sure by the time I get back there would be more magic in this blog.

Until then,

Got bitten by the magic bug again

2009-06-23T08:14:00.000-07:00

When I woke up today I don't know what happened but there was this feeling in me that I wanted to do magic. So I grabbed my cards and started doing packet tricks. To my surprise I was still doing it very well though I lacked practice from it.

I was practicing it because a thought crossed into my mind about routining and I remember John Guastaferro's Blog entry regarding about getting past mental block but as for me it also helps in routining to avoid being boring.

Also part of me getting excited all over again is my anticipation of having a new prop that might help me make my magic become more varied than those that are commonly seen.

Maybe if I get to be back on my normal schedule I could find time and hopefully use magic once and for all to earn regularly.

Hoping for the best,

A year of magically blogging

2009-06-16T06:27:00.000-07:00

Well it has been more than a year since I started blogging about my musings with magic and its relation to everyday life. I have been blogging for more than three years but it was only a year since I have been blogging about my hobby and that is magic of course. I can't believe that in a span of one year of blogging of what usually is about the magic I find on the internet. It turned out that by doing so I was able not only to broadcast my thoughts on magic but to make friends in magic as well.

Anyway I hope I continue on blogging and sharing the magic with everyone. As I venture to another year of sharing the magic in the internet I have started my own twitter and for your convenience I have my twitter updates at the sidebar of the blog. So now you could check me out not only here on this blog but on twitter as well.

Let's hope for more years of blogging and sharing the magic

Nearing one year of magic blogging

2009-06-03T04:16:00.000-07:00

I've started writing this blog June of last year so that I could keep track of my thoughts as well as my discoveries in magic in the world wide web. This blog has been an outlet for my creative juices as well as my frustrations when it comes to magic. It has been also an important medium for me to share my magic with people and learn from them as well.

I've been blogging since 2006 but this is my first blog about my hobby which is magic. I didn't know that writing about it would actually be very helpful and in the course of just a year I would say that I had improve a lot in this hobby of mine. Also since bloging is very popular these days I think this is a good way to actually get the attention of people and promote your magic.

Although the internet could reach a lot of people I wasn't really planning on becoming famous through it. I just wanted to broadcast my thoughts and get other opinions for it. Although some opinions are really against what I believe I think having someone respond to your thoughts is actually very helpful in this blog.

Well to all readers watch out for the 1st anniversary of this blog. I might give out some prizes on that day so better stay tuned on this blog.

How the Internet helped me share my magic with others.

2009-06-01T05:09:00.000-07:00

I learned magic when I was ten years old and during that time the Internet wasn't really readily accessible for everybody. I learned magic from a single book and in this country there weren't really a lot of books on magic that were being sold at bookstores, I have to be content with what I know and that hindered me from doing more magic. During that time too my magic has somewhat failed to grow due to lack of resources as well as new knowledge.

Then came the time that the internet was readily accessible and during that time I discovered a lot of free websites that taught mainly basic sleights and a few simple tricks. That was also the time when youtube was starting to get famous and through youtube I found great magic videos that I tried to "reverse engineer" so I could perform them as well.

Through this process I was able to actually have new and better tricks to my arsenal. Before I would be doing simple card tricks usually of the pick a card theme then after seeing more videos I was actually able to do more, like packet tricks. During that time too is when I decided to expand my magic and start relearning coin magic and looking for good routines with it.

I discovered a lot of books mostly classic ones from the internet, Studying the classics inspired me to do more magic and to actually experiment trying to bring it in a more modern setting. Studying these tricks actually inspired me to write about it on my blog Marvelous Magic and I didn't realize that there would be people who would leave comments and actually give me tips that would improve my magic.

Because I wanted to learn more I started to join magician's forums but most of them would actually be just forums that would give you bashing rather than constructive criticisms. Luckily I was able to find Club Magicians who was at that time was still Magicians.com. I was happy to find this site because it's like a one-stop center for magicians. Forums, Videos, Social Networking, Blogs, Chat and now even a its own Shop! Now isn't that something that would actually help magicians to share their magic?

With these sites my eyes were opened to a larger view on magic. That is the time too when magic was being popularized again in this country thanks to local magicians who would be doing street magic specials a la David Blaine or Criss Angel. With that shops have started to spawn around the malls here but too bad their products were mostly cheap imitations that were low quality and the bad thing is that the exposure was becoming more rampant. That is when I decided to look for props online: the newest and the best.

Looking for a shop that has good prices and would ship anywhere was really hard but I found some shops including Magicians.com. With these I was able to actually add up to my repertoire again and in a few months time I had my first gig for a birthday party.

Well so much for what the internet did to my magic, but to sum it all up it has actually helped me become a better magician to share my tricks and skills not only in this country but to people all over the world as well.

Review: DEEP by Justin Meitz

2009-05-27T09:04:00.000-07:00

This review ought to have been written a long time ago. Sorry Justin for the delay now here's the review:

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Can't make balloon animals? No problem. Ditch the poodle and the puppy dog and let's try something even more fun - and amazing! Make a snake - and eat it!

Well swallowing unusual things are really not a part of my repertoire. I don't swallow swords, balls or anything that might endanger my life. Lucky for me though I had the chance to get a copy of Justin Meitz DVD DEEP. Balloon swallowing has been around for quite long and as far as I know Justin was the first to do this on the video.

Justin would guide you all throughout the process along with video performances for real people. In this DVD he teaches the trick along with Daniel one of his students so that you could see that this trick is really easy to do. He gives you tips and presentation ideas so that DEEP could be performed at almost any situation thinkable of.

The DVD is packed with a lot and I'm sure it is worth every penny you spend. With a great teacher like Justin I'm sure you'll learn more than just swallowing a balloon whole.

A new job for me but I miss a lot of things

2009-05-26T06:11:00.000-07:00

Well I got a new job but unfortunately I have to work on a graveyard shift. So that means that the time I spend for magic has really lessened. I really miss the times that I visit Club Magicians, watch youtube videos or browse for some new products at the shop.

I really miss the interaction between fellow magicians and hopefully after two months I could get to visit the club or wrrite again in this blog. It's really hard when all you get to do at home after coming from work is to catch up some lost sleep.

Honestly I'm still adjusting from the work hours but hopefully I could adjust to it. Though I still take time to do magic, my mind is just too tired to think, so for now I'm still on a break from magic. Hopefully in a month or two I could get back on the magic track and have more interaction with the magicians I miss.

Until then, I'll keep you readers posted...

Just a little thought

2009-04-26T20:01:00.000-07:00

I have received a PM just recently regarding a comment I made about a certain video. I was just commenting about the unnecessary action of having a card signed for a "card blister" effect. Then a not so friendly answer came back to me.

At first it goes something like am I a professiona?l etc. Well I'm not and all I did was post a comment referring to the seemingly unnecessary action. It would have been still good with or without the signature since it was shown already to the camera that that was the chosen card and it was already established that it was a chosen card.

Then near the end of the letter I was quite shocked on how it seems to that person that I don't appreciate their efforts, nor I care about magic in this country. Well what they don't know is that as an amateur magician I think that magic need not to be so overrated to be shown every now and then to everyone.

Magic for some is their way of living and this is what supports them, that's why they need to promote it. I'm not against promoting it but making it appear somewhat overrated is something that might not be good for magicians. Since it doesn't only hurt the craft but it might hurt their pockets in the future as well.

New look once more

2009-04-25T19:39:00.000-07:00

The past layouts of this blog has been somewhat too crowded now that's why I've decided to change it's layout once more. Just like any form of entertainment too much of what's happening make one lose focus making the whole show a disaster.

With this I decided to clean this blog and take away all the unnecessary, things like outdated blog ratings, recent visitors, and other ads that might take your attention away from reading my insights on the blog.

Anyway I hope you enjoy the new. simple and clean look of this blog.

I need inspiration in Magic

2009-04-19T21:37:00.000-07:00

These past few days, I really didn't get to practice magic. I don't know why but I don't feel like I am doing anything worthwhile with it. Maybe it's one of those days wherein I am so busy or even maybe one of those days when I am not inspired to do anything at all.

Maybe taking a rest did me some good but it somewhat removed my interest in practicing magic. Maybe I just need to learn something new or to watch something inspiring, especially with what is happening around me.

Maybe someday I'll get my cards, do magic and make other people happy once more but for now I need to be inspired in magic.

Receiving a letter from a great youtube magician

2009-04-14T22:54:00.000-07:00

Just this Monday I received in a letter from my e-mail from one magician whose videos are in this blog. I wrote a few entries about beautiful magic videos found on youtube. Here is his letter to me:

Hello Jordan.

My name is Antonio Zuccaro, a non-professional cardician from Naples, Italy. The reason why I'm writing to you right now is to give you a warm "Thank You" for putting some of my Magic videos on your blog. I really appreciate that! One minor thing: my surname is "Zuccaro" and not "Zucarro" :-P

Your blog is a thing of beauty, keep it up!

Warm regards,
Antonio Zuccaro

To show you how really good he is with magic here's a sample video from his offical channel:

I really appreciate how those I look up to in magic would actually find this blog and actually appreciate the effort. Hopefully my blog will reach more readers to share more magic from all over the world.

If you think you have good videos on youtube, you could send me an e-mail then who knows I might feature it here and if I feel more generous I might even throw in an e-book or two. So tell me about your videos so that we could share them to everyone in the world.

Cleaning the clutter from my magic box

2009-04-06T23:31:00.000-07:00

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With the past long weekend that has just passed, I took the opportunity to clean up my stuff at home (though I may want to go on a vacation or relax somewhere I couldn't since I didn't have the funds) I started first with organizing my magic box.

My magic box contained all the magic I had for the past 4 years (the first props I had were nowhere to be found now but it's alright with me since all of those are really kids stuff anyway) From decks of cards to, linking rings, to DVDs and all the other materials, I seem to have a lot already.

Amidst all the props, I saw one of my favorites which I seldom use now, largely because I've been too busy. The one I'm talking about is my set of Sponge Balls. They were flat when I got them out of the box, so I soaked them in water and voila they were as good as new.

With all that has been happening now in my life I could see myself somewhat similar to the sponge ball. Recently I've been asking myself why things as such has been happening and it had made me a little bit sad. I've been flattened with some problems and trials but that doesn't mean that I would be useless.

All I really need is to be drenched in water (more like immersed) so that I would wake up to the fact that life isn't all that bad and being soft makes you last longer than being hard and resisting and charging things head on. Another side of it is though we may be soft but we still have our breaking point. Well just being philosophical for this post.

Anyway I hope to get more of a regular update here in this blog,

Until then,

A birthday gift from a good friend from miles away

2009-03-29T23:32:00.000-07:00

I've been quite busy over the past few days especially with my birthday. I went to University of the Philippines to do a demo teach, watch my girlfriend's thesis defense and to meet long time friends to celebrate my birthday.

Well it was really nice since I got to celebrate my birthday with a free lunch courtesy of UP ASCENT (Sorry if I was in a hurry and wasn't able to share more time with you guys) Anyway I enjoyed the lunch and I promised to treat them the next time we see each other.

Speaking of treats, I treated my friends from school with Cello's Donuts. I went there right after my demo teaching and it really felt good to treat friends even it feels bad on the pocket. Here's one out of the three boxes I bought for them.

Cello's Cheese, Chocnut, Cinnamon Crunch, Chocolate Sprinkles

Well it wasn't just all for my friends at school since one box went to my girlfriend Ciara and her classmates since they were working hard for a presentation. I had to admit I was a little hesitant to give one box because it might not be enough for the group, but of course they valued the thought more than anything else and appreciated the gift and shared it with everyone in the class.

After sharing all the love and donuts on my birthday, I took Ciara back to her home and on the way there we were talking to another good friend of mine: Shane. Though it was getting late it was really fun recounting all the memories back in school.

Arriving from home, I saw a brown envelope waiting for me on the table. I opened it and behold I had one of the best gifts for my birthday courtesy of Justin Meitz. It might not be intentional but the time it arrived was just perfect since it was my birthday, and I can't wait to watch it.

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Well thanks to everyone who made this year's birthday a better one. Hopefully next year would even be better.

Thanks to all,

Another year another chance and a birthday wish

2009-03-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

copyright Universal Press syndicate

Yeah the title sounds cliche but of course with each birthday that passed in my life as far as I could remember it has been a chance for me to look back at who I was and look forward to who will I be. With my birthday today all I could say that for the past 22 years of my existence in this world I have learned a lot but not enough to know what is life really about.

Turning a year older made me realize that life isn't all about making you biggest wishes and wildest fantasies come true. Before I always said to myself that after I finished my studies I'll be filthy rich and all with a lifestyle of luxury that I would be enjoying for the rest of my life.

Those were a few wishes I wanted and every year I would be wishing for them but of course in reality it would only bring frustration if you can't achieve those things that you've been wishing for. Worse is that despite the hard work you gave to it, it will still turn out very unlike the dream you've always wished for.

With that I realized that in life sometimes our dreams get too much in the way that we forget the reality that life is beautiful. Yes life isn't perfect but it can always be beautiful, especially with the people you value the most.

Lastly I learned that in the end it all just comes down to one question: "Are you happy" Well the answer would still vary but for now I know that I am...

Taking a break

2009-03-24T02:09:00.000-07:00

What do sheep count when they can't get to sleep?

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Well I am taking a break from magic since for the past two weeks I have been to busy with my current job. However in a month, I'll be off with a new job and hopefully it won't be as stressful as this one.

I know it might not be wise to get out of a current job because times are hard but imagine if you could actaully do what you want then you wouldn't have to work a single day in your life right? In other words doing something you enjoy would make you look forward to go to work rather than drag yourself all the way to it.

This brings me to something related with magic. When I started magic I wanted to do almost everything there is with it. I wanted to do close-up, parlor and even stage illusions. Though it was really far fetched I never stopped conceiving ideas for possible acts in the future.

So I studied almost every branch of magic thinking that someday I'll be very good at it. However I just gave up on some of the things I'm practicing like Card Manipulations. I got tired trying to produce continuous cards out of thin air and actually not being happy with the results. Then I thought that if I don't so this anyway that won't make me less a magician right?

Well at least now whenever I learn something new I try to practice it first but when I see that it really wouldn't be of any help I just ditch it and search for better options same with what I have just done, since I'm not seeing my self improving with this I might as well find something better to do.

This brings me back to the question above (What do sheep count when they can't get to sleep?) Well maybe they'll count something else.