Saturday Night Contest - Resolutions For 2010

[jonraiker]

First and foremost, happy new year from all of us at theory11! As stated earlier this week, we've accomplished a lot this past year - but tonight's not about us. It's about you.

We want to know - in your own words - what you feel you have accomplished over this last year (2009) in magic and / or cardistry. Some of you may have performed your first professional show, others may have come up with a cool idea or concept that found its way into your repertoire, or maybe you just discovered the art and want to share how it's impacted your life. The contest tonight is simple - tell us about it.

In addition, we want to know what your resolutions are for this next year - 2010. What are your goals? What would you like to see yourself accomplish in magic and / or cardistry over the coming year? We want to hear about it!

Because this is a written contest, everyone of you is free to participate. Submissions should be posted as responses to this thread - and all entries must be in by 11:00pm EST, for judging. We will review the posts and announce the winner no later than 12:00am EST. Note that submissions can vary in length - but are limited to 500 words, maximum.

The prize? A six-pack of playing cards (your choice), on the house. Looking forward to reading through all of your accomplishments, aspirations, thoughts, and goals!

 

[gabemagggic]

First of all I'd like to perform more magic in streets, discos, shopping places.etc.
Secondly I'd like to go to Hospitals for perform magic for children.
And I'd like to make a video about my new card trick creations.
(I will make a cool homepage )

 

[CorbinB]

This is my first year in magic. Well other than those silly little tricks you learn when you're six. My biggest accomplishment is simply discovering magic. Now that I look back everything seems really dull and boring before I discovered the art. As for other accomplishments, I promised myself I had to learn atleast one piece of cardistry. After I did i discovered how much fun it was, even though i prefer magic. Another accomplishment is mastering three great pieces of magic like Lee Asher suggested. Well actually some are sleights but anyways. I chose: The biddle trick, The side steal and the cardini change. Admittedly none of these are difficult. However the biddle trick is very powerful and gets great reactions. The side steal is an amazing control that is very easy to hide with practice. And the cardini change looks very visual and has several useful applications. My resolutions well, lets just say that they will take quite a bit of time. But hey thats what makes magic fun. Anyways I want my classic pass better. (its terrible right now, I'm not going to lie) I want to master every trick on the first disc of the trilogy. (yeah I'll notify you guys when I do in a few years lol.) And finally is to man up and perform for people I don't know all that well. This is harder for me because im 12 and many people dont take me seriously...But yeah. So umm thanks for reading and I hope I win.

 

[Sean.Cinco]

Let's see, what did I accomplish magic-wise in 2009...

My first gig.
Though it wasn't a paid gig, I had learned alot from it. It was for a Hispanic charity event at a club (Bliss Ultralounge for those in the Orlando area). What did I learn? Well, I totally underestimated how difficult the club/lounge venue can be. I never realized how important talking REALLY is in magic. I figured I could just do the no talking approach like Teller does it, but it was so difficult! Not to mention that it's kind of hard to keep people's attention because of the music playing and people just wanting to socialize and dance. Would I do it again? Probably not. At least not for a while. Even though I've been casually performing for about 6 years now, I felt like such a n00b when I did that gig. It was a really humbling experience for me, but I definitely don't have any regrets from it.

Open mic night performance at UCF
This was my second open mic performance I've done. It was hosted by the Filipino Student Association at UCF. That night, Murphy's law definitely came into play. I had five soda cans in my bag, along with some cards and a rat trap. The soda was for a roulette version of Paul Harris' Fizz Master and the rat trap was for Curtis Kam's Rat Pack. So what happened? Right when I got on campus, a can of soda started leaking in my bag ruining all of my cards except for my Stingers which were in a Porper (yes, the Porper protected the cards from the damage surprisingly!). Other than that, the performance went alright. In the middle of the soda roulette, I realized that I had to re-structure the patter since nobody really understood what was supposed to happen, and the rat pack was just good ol' fun like always. Moral of the story: keep your soda away from your cards and keep your cards in a Porper.

Goals for 2010 in no particular order
-Become more involved with the local magic community by attending IBM meetings
-Perform a hell of alot more
-Put together a half-hour street show
-Go to a magic convention
-Become a local celebrity
-P90X round 2 (Not magic related, but gotta be healthy and look good right?)

 

[True2Coins]

Well, 2009 kind of took a dump on my with my personal life. I had my heart broken into a million pieces, but I used magic to keep my guard up as high as I could. I sort of stopped performing and worked entirely on PRACTICING and WRITING. I think it's safe to say that some of my personal best ideas have been conceived this year and I learned how to branch out with my magic. For example, I began to write a full stand up show which I have started from the ground up. Everything will have my own personal touch and will be as original as possible which is a big step up from a lot and really risk taking. And I'm really proud that I started shaving this year (inside joke, nvm) Plus, I was able to work with some of my closest friends and help them with their magic which was really cool. My goals for 2010 are to gain 10 pounds and then bring out my show and start performing again, maybe street, maybe restaurant. And hopefully I can start my career alongside the most beautiful girl I know. Enjoy 2010 everybody, remember: 2012 is only 2 years away...

Btw, how many entries can we do (another inside joke, nvm)

 

[popchris3]

Man, 2009 has been a CRAZY year!

I REALLY started doing cardistry; which has been beneficial in gaining crowds attention, and has definitly allowed my actions to be smoother overall. My flourishing has grown a LOT since I started; I still have a LOT to learn.

I have really started networking with magicians and working on being original in my magic; I have added patter, created it and most importantly really brought myself into my magic.

MOST IMPORTANTLY I have really sat down and worked on making my actions and performances entertaining; working hard on PRACTICING, and not nessisarily trying out every new trick.

My goals for the next year are simple; to bring more of myself into ALL my routines. If you look at guys like Andrei Jikh, people who OOZE style... That is what I am trying to do with my work; make EVERYTHING I do (cardistry, magic, patter) to be more like me.

Thanks! Good luck and congradulations to the winner!

 

[scarecrow1]

Well, this year I discovered a lot about magic. I also matured a LOT in my magic carrier, realizing you get no were by being on a magic forum all your free time, instead of practicing and performing magic. I realized the best way to get better is to go out and perform. I found you CAN learn a lot on forums, but you learn more by doing it yourself. I matured in my magic carrier again, by realizing it takes dedication and hard work. Not by working on a move five times then doing something else.

With all that, I've been advancing WAY more than I had been. I also found this year what type of magic I like performing, and what persona I use when performing.

Overall, I've advanced a lot in 2009, and plan on doing the same, and more, this year.

One more thing. I've made some cool acquaintances on this forum

EDIT:I went to my first magic convention in 2009 also. Met some cool people and learned a lot.

 

[jprace]

My Accomplishments:

I absolutely love creating magic. Of course, I love performing more, but creating is also a hobby of mine. First off, I had my first original trick published in MAGIC Magazine. I've submitted many tricks to that magazine before, but they all got declined. I finally achieved the goal of getting something published in that particular magazine. Second, I had a trick appear in Reel Magic Magazine. I had something in that magazine before, but unlike before, this trick got some great feedback. I also published my DVD Gum, produced by KozmoMagic. I think even better than getting it produced was the bigger accomplishment of getting great reviews on every forum and by Tom Frame from the Genii Magazine forums. So this was a big year on publishing original magic.

Like I said earlier, I love performing. I do like to busk at local festivals, so I did that pretty much the whole summer. But when it turned winter, and school started, I had less time to perform. Luckily, I obtained a regular job at a mini-golf location that hosts a lot of parties. I am also continued to perform at birthday parties and private events. And of course, I tried (and still try) to perform at school as much as possible. For me, the more experience and performing time the better.

My 2010 Goals

In 2010, I plan to lay back on publishing magic. Although it’s cool to have something appear in a magazine, I’d rather spend that time performing. I might occasionally create something for myself, but I most likely won’t be publishing anything else.

I hope that my free time lends itself to more performance time. I’d like to get more recognized in my local community, and the only way to do that is to advertise yourself. I plan on performing more than I ever have before, and I hope that will lead to more and more future gigs.

And lastly, I plan to stop buying so much new magic! A lot of the new magic that is coming out now is not worth what it costs, and sadly I am falling into the trap of false advertisement, and ending up with a product I’m never going to use. So unless I see something that will perfectly fit an open position in my repertoire, I am going to be going back into my junk drawers and pulling out old magic. Hopefully, I will be able to adapt that magic to fit me and my presentational style now, and will eventually be able to work it into my performing repertoire. I finally realized audiences don’t know or care what the newest thing on the market is. As long as they haven’t seen it before, anything can be new to them!

So those were accomplishments of 2009 and my goals for 2010. 2009 was a great year for magically and non-magically, so I hope 2010 brings new surprises and will be even better than last year!

 

[cm763]

Near the beginning of 2009, which was right around the midway point of the school year, I began to perform for random people on my university campus, which was the first time I took my magic/mentalism to school with me (I tend to prefer to keep school and magic separate; my comfort zone is performing at my brother's restaurant--it's still for strangers, but it just seems like the pressure isn't there because the venue is owned by my brother, and I know he's there to bail me out if necessary, and is understanding no matter what happens). It actually turned out to be a great experience; I found it a lot more rewarding than performing for family or friends (although, performing for drunk friends at parties is mighty entertaining—their reactions are priceless).

As well, this year I made a marked improvement in how I approached my preparations for magic/mentalism routines. No longer do I try to learn every new magic effect as it’s released, as I did for the first year or longer of being into magic; it just doesn’t make sense to do so. I now put a heavy emphasis on scripting, routining (so the routine actually flows; the choice of effects really has to make sense), etc., and focus on a smaller repertoire of effects.

For 2010, my biggest resolution is to stop buying magic. I plan to not buy a single effect. I definitely need to focus on what I already have.

As well, I’d like to start learning coin magic. I’ll be starting with Bobo’s, as that’s a book I’ve purchased but have yet to put to good use. It makes sense to start with the basics, to build a good, strong foundation.

Also, I’ll be branching further into mentalism (which is where my main focus is, and has been, since almost the beginning). Despite the fact that mentalism has been my main focus, one can never learn too much about a subject. I own a vast amount of material on the subject, so I think it would be useful to go through some of it with a little bit of a finer toothed comb, to pick up every last morsel of information that I can.

Lastly, I’d like to be performing full parlour shows at my brother’s restaurant by the year’s end. I’ll be performing a few effects, as a guest performer, starting two weeks from now, during my brother’s shows (he’s also a magician). This will be a great start, and will lead into performing my own shows. I’ll take it slow, but it’s difficult to not be excited for what the future has in store--especially because it's been a lot of fun performing and jamming with my brother. To take it a step further and perform full shows with him, and then for him, at his restaurant, well...it's just pure awesome. Having lived so far away from my brother for so long, it's really nice to have something that we both share in common that allows us to bond like we have been. For that, I love having found magic (and my brother having found an interest in magic, as well--independently of myself, at that).

If this year is anything like the last, then this will definitely be a good year for the growth of my magic!

 

[dbmagic4]

Wow, to look back at this past year, it has been by far the best year of my life. This year was my first year back in magic, and my first year with T11. I did magic when I was younger, but when I became a freshman in high school, everything changed. My goals and aspirations had changed, and I wanted to do something different wth my life. No longer did I want to be the jock football player, which all he was known for was to beat people up. That's when I met my best friend, Nick Greene. He took me in when he inspired me to begin magic once again. It was then that I discovered this amazing place. He taught me everything he knew, and we are still the best of friends, but I feel that he has since moved on. Now that he has graduated, I feel that the only friends I can truly confide in are the magical people I meet here. The only people with which I can discuss a new double lift. The only people I can have an intelligent conversation with about something as little as a flare card; my only true friends. Throughout the past year I feel honored and privileged to learn the best magic that there is to know from the best artists. Artists like Dan and Dave, Daniel Madison, all the others, and every member here. The people that keep me striving to do my very best at anything I can. The people that motivate me and inspire me to be different than all others. Only now, am I proud to say, that I feel I am truly, One Among Eleven.

Hopefully the coming year will be tenfold of 2009. I have many things I plan to do this year, such as mastering the flourishes from the great minds of Dan and Dave, and even finally getting that Clip to Shift. In the near future, I plan on doing magic at a restaurant. Hopefully I will do more amazing magic, that will keep my spectators coming back again and again. I also plan on fixing my creative block, which I've always had, so I can say "Yeah, I came up with this.". I hope you enjoyed my story this evening, because I certainly enjoyed living it. Thank you.

 

[NJillusionist3]

2009 was the year I really became a magician. I had only been practicing since the summer of 2008, so at the time I was really just a kid playing with a few card tricks. But I started to master some of the routines in Harry Lorayne's Close-up Card Magic, and then i began to branch out to other sources and really tried to immerse myself in the art. I began to practice much more and with more determination and persistence. Also, I made much more of an effort to become more than a one dimensional magician. Like I said, I became a magician, not just a guy who does card tricks. I got a book and DVD on the Cups and Balls, so I could live up to Vernon's standard of being a magician. Also, I picked up and old set of sponge balls my brother had and really started to work with them, and they became one of my favorite props to perform. I started work with coins, and continue it now as I'm still not very good. haha I began to watch some of the best performers in the world and really pay attention to my presentation as compared to just the mechanics of the effects. I even have a pretty good Clipshift now. I also went to my first magic convention. I became a magician in 2009.
My resolution is to really get out there and perform for people. I really want to get a walk around gig or some other type of show, maybe at my high school like a talent show. I will talk to my boss from the magic shop i used to work at and try and get some training to do some shows for real people and really pay attention to working on my presentation as a magician and less about what my hands can do.

 

[KeoSilver]

2010 Goals

Well this is more for myself then anything else, here is my essay at about 443 words.(not including this lead in) It's early but I am quite tired, so I may or may not be up to see who wins, I already see the winners so far since the people before me took the time to post something.

Wow, it’s two thousand and ten; two thousand and nine is now last year! Although it has only been two days into two thousand and ten it certainly feels a lot longer. College deadlines personal goal deadlines and restarts could drown out everything that has happened over the past year. Before this happens I might as well reflect over my accomplishments of the magical kind. Two thousand and nine brought to me the idea of creating several characters for myself; personas if you would. My goals at the start were, to create at least one new character that fits me, and create an original presentation of an effect that fits the character. I may have set the goal too low because I have exceed that goal making three working characters for myself, and have changed my entire performing repertoire to fit each of these characters. In addition to this I have since added four new effects to my performing portfolio. All of this in addition to making it through high school and into a semester in university, albeit not the one I wanted, but hey I am not going to complain.

Looking back at my accomplishments, this year’s goals are going to push myself a little more. My goals this year that apply to magic are, shave some fat off my body, read at least four books no less three hundred pages outside of magic, that I enjoy to broaden my vocabulary and strengthen my creativity toward presentation. Get at least one gig or a paying long-standing job, become a licensed bartender, maintain above a C in college classes so I may more enjoy my time that I take off for magic meetings and hopefully a convention or conventions.

Wow, I have my bar set high for myself this coming year. Although it may not seem high, it’s almost out of reach for myself. My goals this year barely compare to the ones of the past year. Having met all the goals of two thousand and nine, I want to keep to a goal that doesn’t only apply to magic but to all of my New Year goals. That goal is, to complete all goals to the best of my person and be able to reflect and look back at my work and say “Wow I am proud of myself, I gave it my all and I truly did my best.” without any hesitation and with confidence. Looking back one final time at two thousand nine, I can honestly say “Wow I am proud of myself, I gave it my all and got that and more back. I truly did my best, and more.”


"2010 goals" By Silver_Fang

 

[James Wise Magic]

2009 has been the year of getting out of the comfort zone of my friends and family and going out into the streets and performing magic. It's scary but fun which makes it totally worth it! 2009 has also been the year for the most creativity for me. I've have come up levitations and magic that has to do with today's age. Ipod color changes and guitar magic, it's amazing!

For 2010 I plan to real professional gigs and take some of the craziest magic to the streets. 2010 is going to be amazing!

 

[Blindside462]

In 2009 I felt that I made myself adapt to magic. I found my style in the arts. All the years I've been practicing has been evolved to something extraordinary and I feel I have grasped the magician side of myself. Of course you can do all the tricks you want but "what would you do",pk effects, card magic? ..A little bit of both? It's like building a class in a rpg game or something, makes magic interesting and feels like living a double life. That's what 2009 for me.

 

[CaseyRudd]

2009 was a rough year for me. My family’s financial situation changed my personality, made me angry for wrong reasons, and most importantly changed me overall. But what did not change was my view on magic. I’ve only been into magic for almost two years. At the start, unfortunately I was drawn into that Ellusionist hype. I didn’t know any better, or what else was out there. Over the course of 2009, I’ve grown into learning the history, and going to books rather than DVDs. I gained a new friend, Josh Brand. Talking to Josh and being friends with him has drawn me closer and closer to learning and studying about magic’s history. So I personally thank him for that. At this point in time, I am studying the Card Magic of Ernest Earick, commonly known as By Forces Unseen. That book has changed the perspective on the way I thought about magic. I also got the Paper Engine, along with Reflection, both including my favorite material I have ever come across. Magic is everything to me and who I am. Nothing will ever change that. I am always fascinated learning new things about the history of magic, and reading about its general knowledge. As I reflect, I changed for the better over the course of the 2009 year. I gained a better knowledge and outlook of the subject, and my life would have taken a wrong turn if it weren’t for my magician friends and their support for me.

As for my resolutions of the New Year, I really wish to start performing. Still at this point, I practice for hours on end, and LOVE doing it. Although it is awesome practicing and coming across new material, I feel a gap that needs to be filled. This gap, a hole that’s missing, is performing. I wanted to start performing in my Downtown area, at a popular place called Marion Square. But ever since my family’s financial situation, traveling was hard, and never frequent. So, I was stuck in my den, at the computer, practicing, practicing, practicing. For the New Year, as I mentioned, I want to start performing. Hopefully along the way, I can get some tips (money tips), and hopefully get a job to earn some money. Another one of my resolutions is to expand my knowledge, and to study on some of magic’s biggest impacts, such as Dai Vernon, Bill Goodwin, and Larry Jennings (just to name a few). Learning about these masters of magic will highly influence my own magic, and what I can do to improve. One more resolution for this New Year is to create my own material and also, practice more cardistry. I recently got Andrei Jikh’s Genesis, and I must say, I love everything in there.

Hopefully for this New Year, things for my family will get better, and I will progress in my magic. My personality may have changed over last year, but my feelings for magic, have not.

-Casey Rudd

 

[StephenCooley]

Hey guys, happy new year. I started cardistry *in late 2008, getting to know the background info, then learning from a lot of the older cardists here that posted free tutorials on all of our second favorite website, YouTube. (haha) the past half of 2009, I created a lot of original material, including something I'm very proud of, a one handed cut. Yeah I know. You're saying: look at this noob. Where's his proof? He doesn't know Jack. Well. I do. And theory11has helped me a lot. Especially you guys, the community.

A tip: although this is a great community, try to come up with things original, and practice with a lot of your free time. Then, show them to the t11 community, and then you can get some feedback and constructive critism.*

In 2010, I plan on getting my name out. Im my own person, I've got my own style, Im ready to have people that support me. I'm ready to have people that hate me. But what is a hate comment? Just pick up the deck of cards and keep going. All of you guys here have talent, happy new years guys.*
Stephen

 

[E venHauge]

2010

I Would like to start with Happy New year guys.

first i feel i have accomplished this year i finally have gotten my real magic gigs, so now im in the buisness i also started with Cardistry and Card magic Seriously. I also discoverd like the '' Real card magic ''
My goals for 2010 is : Even more pratice then before. i will not only do card magic but also cardisry. a resulotion is not to when i get money i buy a new deck staright away

I Also need to focus more on one effect at the time not do the effect then get it to work then go to the next one, i would rather pratice 1 effect till i get it down then pratice a bit more then memoris it so i can go to the next effect.
I Will also try to publicize my self more !

I also try to be more updated in magic/cardistry

 

[Jenai]

2009 has been a GREAT year for me

Because its year I got into magic ( yes I am a beginner) in the past year Ive progressed alot. I started out doing pretty lame coin tricks then moved on to slightly better self- working card tricks At first I was afraid to try sleight of hand moves because I was sure I'd be bad at them (since I have small hands). After a while I got rid of that fear & started practicing some. I've progressed a lot, Now magic has become a small but EXTREMELY IMPORTANT part of my life!

I just got the "Trilogy" for Christmas & Im working on many tricks from there & its going quite well now


In 2010 I want to do many things, I hope to start practicing lots more XCM, Master everything im working on now (Queens, GOAT change, & other stuff from the 'Trilogy') & more...

Also theres something I lack that I think is VERY essential if you want to perform magic,
And that is the ability to be able to COMMUNICATE with your audience & get them involved into the trick. You cant let the maic be just about you. Im a shy person so I hope to build up a little more confidence & actually be able to interact with my spectators so that they & I can enjoy the performance a lot more!

I know theres not many Goals but I dont like to say something I cant/wont do.

I hope I will be able to achieve the above Goals & a lot more allowing me to REALLY progress in my magic


Thanks & Good luck to everone else


- Jenai

 

[themagicofdennis]

2010 here i come!

Well I have to say 2009 felt like two seconds it comes and goes! But there are a few things that have impacted me during the year 2009. I made up several effects, I met several magicians and I had alot of fun performing shows for young and old, but what did I like the most? The thing that I like the most is seeing people happy nothing makes my day than making someone happy (I’m a person that likes to give). I was sitting down at a restaurant (Tim Horton’s) playing with some cards and a guy by the name “Brian Durkin” asks me if I know how to do magic tricks and I tell him yes and I proceed to show him a trick at the end of the trick Brian thanks me and tells me that he had not had the feeling of being a child for so long thus I made him very happy , I love to see people happy ! During 2009 I had ups and downs (mostly ups lol ).I have met many magician, I created many effects that I kept to myself, and I have been performing the art for 7 years, I am proud of all that but I do have some goals for 2010,one of my goals is to be more social ( maybe that will make me more known to the world). My main goal for 2010 is to get my name out there I want to be famous I want my 7 years of experience to pay off and be world famous it is my dream and that dream will happen one day. People call magic a hobby and they are 99% right but the other 1% is not right because magic is literately my life and I intend it to be that way ,2010 here I come .

 

[Liderc]

one of my biggest accomplishments of 2009 magic wise is becoming a Magician at the Magic Castle, that was a goal i've had since i was 5 years old..

i got my first blackstone magic kit at 5, and fell in love.. later that year i got called on stage at a vegas show and got a sword put through my neck, those two moments changed and shaped my life forever.

19 years later i finally got enough money to train myself in the arts i've loved all my life, i finally got the funds to pay for my membership at the castle (after i auditioned to become a magician there)

my grandpa was a magician, nothing professional but he was magic, i only wish he could have seen what i've become

when you can perform for people, and see it has a huge impact on their life, you know that magic goes way beyond sleight of hand or illusion, it has a deeper meaning, a deeper core.


my goals for 2010

to perform at any chance i can get, even more then i am now. i also want to start creating my own effects, i have so many idears and now its just getting them out of me head and into the real world.

to push magic even further then it is now, to take it and run with it, to make it huge, to make the underground known... but keeping it still a sacred art that it is, my love and my life. but have more people aware of it, so when people see a guy with a deck of cards, they know he's a magician, and they want to see something.. not a weird loner with a deck of cards


i would also like to give people the opportunity to get into magic... i had a hard time when i was little and i couldn't afford a book, or a deck of cards even... i could like to give the opportunity to those that want this.. as much as i love it