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It just occurred to me that if the past couple pages are any indication, one criticism of my first idea in my previous post is that this would require the contestants to actually record themselves with at least one spectator, that it would have to be an actual performance to work. And yes...

"The Medium is the Message" was a graphical illustration of McLuhan's theories that he outlined in his book "Understanding Media." He posited that the medium itself, not its content, should be the object of analysis and discussion because the vary nature of the medium itself has far more impact...

Interesting story, I got this idea from a mentor in college who was an Emmy-winning TV producer with PBS. Every TV show have what they have a series bible that details all of the essential information necessary for the production team to create a consistent product. The series bible always...

Fair point. To that effect, Mark Wilson would be the ideal choice to kick things off. Now that I think of it, it might be an interesting idea to push discussion and motivate guys to get the book if we all share one or more of our favorite stories performing material from the book. I have two...

And that's why I said I'm giving up. But fine. You want constructive? I'm sick as a dog right now, can't leave the house, and have time to kill. I'm just going to type whatever enters into my diseased skull and see what comes out. I'll even listen to Mr. Blue Sky by ELO the whole time to...

Smith, Lovecraft and Howard were considered the golden authors of the pulps. Weird Tales and similar publications reached their peak with those three, but the beginning of the end was Howard's suicide. Lovecraft died a year later from cancer. Smith was so distraught to lose two of his most...

It seems to me what you're asking for is real conjuring. I suggest you set some more realistic expectations or find the nearest supernatural entity to sell your soul to.

In the latter case, the weed isn't what bothers me since I'm pro-legalization. The Beatles didn't write their best work under the influence of Dr. Pepper if nothing else. It's the celebrity culture that boggles my mind. Especially the trend of reality TV and being famous for being famous...

I suppose that feeds into the issue of perceived mutual exclusivity. Some people have actually told me that they don't believe a certain medium aligns with the character archetype they've chosen for themselves, correctly or otherwise. Older folks don't believe games have any artistic merit...

While I'm thinking of it, I'm always on my crusade to convince magicians that the best thing they can do for their creativity is to read more fiction. Is it conceivable that once or twice a year, we could feature a novel? Or maybe have an extra book that month as a bonus? There's a lot of...

At least one of Jim Steinmeyer's history books like "Hiding the Elephant" or "The Great Deception" should go in there somewhere. Anyone who thinks history is boring has never actually studied history. Our art has only gotten better because of the academic study of everything that came before...

I was raised in a family where the arts and humanities are highly valued. So I honestly cannot get my head around how anyone can say that they want to completely cut out an entire medium from their learning process. My father is in his mid-50's and is studying gamification. And all these guys...

I would argue that my track record shows I do get results, though usually only when the person I'm criticizing accepts that it's nothing personal. That said, I never claimed I wasn't difficult to work with. One of the reasons I bust my balls to get useful content into any community I join is...

Usually I start with a show idea. I decide on a theme and tone. From there, I try to figure out how the natural progression of ideas should go. If blocked, I skim through my books looking for interesting ways to present effects I already know, or knew scripts I could attach to them consistent...

So far it's cards. I'm going to suggest a variant on an effect I used to do while busking. If you have the World's Greatest Magic: Thumb Tip DVD, you can probably reverse engineer a method on your own. The magician offers to try something a little unconventional. He requires them both to...

I don't buy that logic. Never did. It's purely in the camp of the annoying business major philosophy: everything is win/lose. The idea that the success of others, even if it's a lesser success, diminishes your own is what gets people to stab each other in the back. Does anyone here really...

In my defense, I don't understand why you think those last couple paragraphs are so negative. I was explaining that I don't fault you for the target market you've chosen. I'm just not in that market, and that's one of the reasons I don't participate in the contests. The prizes don't generally...

I've been very public about my experience, not just in magic and mentalism, but in digital video and music. I know how photography works, thank you. Please do not insult my intelligence. I'm just curious what skill you think it takes to come up with three different names of animals that may...

This is the third time I've said this, and it probably won't be the last because it never seems to stick. My problem with the video heavy approach is that I always hear the same stupid excuse: "I'm a visual learner." This is another case of a little bit of knowledge in the hands of a fool...

It's not personal taste I'm complaining about. Yeah, because the barrier to entry in terms of skill and resources is almost nonexistent and requires a grand total of maybe a tenth of a second worth of thought. That's why lotto is so popular irl but only a handful of people ever make it on...