theory11 — Magic Tricks & the World's Finest Playing Cards

You know nothing until you've read this!

Ben Long said:
Everyone who considers him or herself a true practitioner of sleight of hand should and will read this. It is fifteen pages long and you will read it. That is not a request.

But seriously, read it or I'll cook a kitten.

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1993/04/05/1993_04_05_054_TNY_CARDS_000362341?currentPage=1
Click to expand...


If not for yourself, do it for the kitten...

cat.jpg
 
Ok, ok. It's a piece done in 1993 in the New Yorker on Ricky Jay. I stumbled across it and realized, none of us knows s**t. We all want to be underground, to be dedicated to the art of magic, but none of us are--and that includes every T11 artist--like Ricky Jay is.

Just read the whole thing--don't skip over any parts or you will really miss out.
 
Tired and gotta finish an English paper.:p I'll keep this link though and read it tomorrow. Thanks for the article. :)

-Doug
 
Guys, let's just try to be a little serious here. Ben posted something pretty good (I think... I haven't read it yet).

-Doug
 
A beautiful article

I could write tons of stuff but i'll try and keep it short.

That article is a long one, but it is a good read and it paints an interesting portrait. Ricky Jay has lived a very full and interesting life and even this brief peek into it is likely to surprise a lot of people. It might also give those of us who are relatively new to magic something to think about.

On a somewhat unrelated note, you know that question that is often asked on many magic forums...... Who is the magician that inspired you to get started? Many people answer David Blaine or Criss Angel. For me it was Ricky Jay. I had seen David Blaine's specials and Criss Angel's TV shows previously and those guys were quite captivating in their own right. However, I never thought about trying to learn magic seriously until I saw a few Ricky Jay videos on Youtube two months back. It was the kind of sheer astonishment that I have never experienced while seeing close up magic before. I never thought it was possible for anyone else to present card magic with such technical finesse and overall flair.

All I can say is that if you guys are busy, make sure you set aside some time and read the article. If you haven't seen Ricky Jay's performances, check out youtube. You won't be sorry.
 
That was a terrific read! A great find, indeed. :)

I remember reading it before, but I was still early into my magical journey. Technically I'm still in the infancy of what has quickly become an obsession of mine, but that's beyond the point, heh. What matters is that I now appreciate it a lot more now than I did back then...it's been bookmarked (to be saved to my computer tomorrow, when I get some sleep).

I second the notion to go check out some of his videos on YouTube...his cups and balls routine, in particular, is spectacular! He is definitely a joy to watch, to say the least. :)
 
i dont respond to to many threads but i had to with this one. i agree with descartes, rick jay inspired me first. if any of you have not seen ricky jay and his fifty two assistants, it is well worth the watch. quite a bit of this article is on his website if you want to research him a little more. a lot of people dont credit him when they throw around the best ther are, but in my opinion, he definately ranks with anyone.
 
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