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What is the place of humor in a performance? If one isn't funny, there's too much tension. If one is too funny, it takes away from the effect. What we do is pretty funny. We break rules. There is an inherent humor to magic, and yet at the same time, the rules we break can be very...

I never met him, but Irv Furman died on the 21st. My sister's boyfriend lives in Philly and he was quite literally just at Mr. Furman's magic shop. He got me a trick for Hanukkah. He told me how nice this guy was and that the next time I was up in Philly we would go to meet him. Today...

What's the best way to find you niche in magic? By natural selection or by brute force or by something in between? Here are the ideas and some metaphor worthy of Mr. Miyagi: The first: Learn as much as I can. Know about every sleight, every move, every trick... Try and completely...

Is it worth subscribing to Genii Magazine? Do they consistently have good material? What about the database? Is it worth it to subscribe to that?

I just got The Paper Engine by Aaron Fisher. It talks about being relaxed. I did this when I practiced--I just took a step back and completely relaxed. It has helped my magic so much, and in such a short period. I used to think I was a pretty loose performer. This is loose. Every card...

What's a good source for learning to backpalm huge amounts of cards?

Other than The Prestige and The Illusionist, does anyone know of any films on the subject of magic? I don't mean movies that just have Ricky Jay in them, either (although there are some great ones). I mean movies on and about the subject of magic and illusion. And please don't say Penn...

If anyone cares, in your pack of Wynns, there are 2 extra cards, one with a Wynn back and a barcode on the face, and one with a logo on the back and a blank face. Use some double-stick tape and you can make a thick blank card, useful for tricks with blank cards and thick cards alike...

A lot of people seemed pretty pissed at me for a thread I started a few days ago. This is it: http://forums.theory11.com/showthread.php?t=3144 I'm just putting this out there: I don't want to start that stuff up again, but here is something that those of you who disagreede with me...

My little cousin just started into magic. I showed him some things over Thanksgiving--cross cut force, a key card trick, and this one coin vanish... I made him swear into the magician's code so that he's take it seriously. He sent me this: Ben, I tried using silly putty to do...

I would totally be into T11 getting some books by the artists. "The Paper Engine" would be nice. "Totally Out of Control" would also be nice... If T11 did this, I would give them my money... Any chances or is it just wishful thinking?

I wouldn't really call this a review, mainly because it's not a review... I just got a Cerca Trova T-shirt for Hanukkah, which is sexy, and all. It is quite soft, but i noticed that it has these frayed edges, lightly torn sleeves, etc. I'm no fashion nut, but I think that these are supposed...

I saw a magician tonight. He was a stage magician. He was old and past his prime. He did a few appearances of doves, an appearance of a parrot, snowstorm, and (jesus) this finale set to 80's patriotic ballad, producing a crap-load of American flags. It was painful to watch. He was...

So I'm reading (yes, reading) through AoA vol. 3 last night, looking at a some ridiculous packet tricks. These tricks are not easy or simple. They are complex, difficult to learn and, need to be performed in a very precise manner to look magical. This gets me thinking (yes, reading and...

I'm having trouble with the first phase of shooting the the forst card off. I can't control it. Any tips?

I just did this tonight. I was at a party with my friends and I told this guy I practice with that I would be doing Triumph. I asked him to help me out a bit. So now, I'm with a large group of people and someone inevitably asks for a trick (I, of course, oblige). I do my favorite...

I did a performance tonight and it went pretty smoothly. But I just wasn't feeling "on." I felt like I was missing somthing. It wasn't my pants, that's the good news. Everything I did just felt trite. The audience seemed to really like it, so I guess I did my job of entertaining them...

I was sitting in front of my computer a short while ago, trying to think of a good discussion topic I could post when suddenly the though occured to me: "Why am I not practicing?" I think everyone can practice more... I hope that the irony of this thread is not lost on everyone...

I've got some TnR questions. As always, if answering them would be exposing them, don't asnwer them... 1. Is it gimmicked? 2. Is there setup? 3. Is it angle sensitive, and if so, how angle sensitive? 4. Is it noisy? 5. Can everything be examined afterwards? 6. Can I...

I was thinking (I do that sometimes, but try to contain your surprise), making a trick's presentation silly can actually (believe it or not) make said trick cooler. The more outrageous the trick, the sillier it should be. The idea I had uses that Criss Angel levitation (which I personally...