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Magic is not inherently art. You can make it art, but in order to do so, you have to have very, very, very, VERY good presentational skills. You've got to be creative, original, and deceptive. Call your Tivo Transpo art, and people close your Youtube video. Show off your classic pass, and...

Because gimmicks are not a bad thing, in any form of magic. They are not a "cheap" way out, they're not a demonstration of no skill. Gimmicks do not mean you are a bad magician. Gimmicks are for tricks that require a special device or method for achieving the effect that regular sleight of...

The OP as well as anyone else who's interested in the discussion. Yet for some reason, people find the need to come in and let everyone know just how much they don't care. Going to great lengths to display apathy sort of kills the concept.

I tried paper with words on it changing into paper with lots more words on it. The texture and thickness was off, and it didn't work the way bills do. You'll probably need to be a bit more precise in trimming the paper and maybe even experiment with different kinds of paper.

So much so that I scrapped my original plans with it and went with bills of the same color. I now change ones into ones, except the new ones have little moustaches and facial hair and glasses drawn on George.

Paul Harris has an effect in one of the Art of Astonishment books where he hides four coins in a single card as part of a coin matrix type thing. You could apply a similar method to what he did. What I tried before was sticking a few cards together with part of the middle cards cut out, thus...

The number of routines alone does not make one DVD a better value than another. Handling, innovation, and discussion are all valid points for value. I'm not sure if one has more than the other (like many, I'm still trying to decide which to get) but just saying, "Extreme Burn has more changes...

I found that the more I try to achieve that particular type of reaction, the less fun magic gets for me. Because there really isn't that much out there that will totally shatter someone's perception of life. Instead, entertaining people with random moments of strange seems a lot more...

I'm not much of a card guy, but I think it depends on the trick. Do something like the Invisible Palm, where the audience merely observes, and a custom deck should be okay to use. It's already a completely visual experience, the custom deck just adds a nice touch. Also for flourishing...

Good lord, that Scraper mess is terrible.

I'd love to talk to him there, but I need a valid e-mail. Stupid e-mail rules.

I'm curious as to Derren's ideas on audience connection. He just seems to have a natural charisma. Where can you find his opinions on this?

Another vote for SMM rings. It was shipped quickly and works very well. Posters from the Magic Cafe reccomend getting a size larger than you normally would (not sure why). Also, the chrome ones double as shiners :D

Kind of off-topic, but kinda not - what are some effects you can use with a marked deck? The obvious it for someone to pick a card and you reveal what it is, but besides that? Does it just eliminate a lot of sleights from other card tricks, or what can you do with one?

After re-reading it, you're right - you need only to hold their hand and not the card (you gently push their hand against their chest, as if positioning it where you want it). My initial reading of the effect seems to have made that confusion. I'll edit the above post.

The Serpentine Spoon - Need a new spoon bend? Don't know any, and want a cool, visual one? Here you go - a spoon is borrowed, flipped over, and the bowl is rubbed against the palm. In seconds, it actually bends up, resembling a cobra ready to strike (hence the name). The spoon is then shown...

X-rated is Sean's second set of mentalism notes, the first being Explicit Content. X-rated is sort of a follow up, a grab bag of random concepts ranging from freaky PK routines to metal building to new sleights. It's meant to be read through a few times and allow the creativity to soak in, and...

Oh, I can imagine. With the right presentation, it's downright scary. Not to mention Bloody Mary. In fact, off I go to review X-rated!

It depends, really. I found quite the opposite to be true. There's no denying that both have useful stuff in them, but X-rated is aimed at the mentalist, whereas 1337notes is aimed at the magician. As such, I found X-rated's stuff to be a few fun utility devices, but otherwise sort of on the...

His website's all that I know of - however, it appears to be down for now.