Does anyone ever feel they spend too much $ on magic?

Feb 16, 2010
120
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I've spent about $500 or so in the past month on literature. I wouldn't really say that I buy into the hype, but I buy for my own personal pleasure and future investment. I currently am still in high school as a senior in an advanced dual credit-ish program where I go to a community college full time and take classes there which get me HS and college credited hours. I am buying up what I can now before I go off to a university where I will most likely be broke.
 
Feb 16, 2010
120
0
don't feel you have to buy anything...

Darwin Ortiz (THE MAN!!) wrote an essay that was posted here

http://www.exomagic.com/forum/lounge/4426-darwin-ortiz-next-book-syndrome.html

give it a read!

As far as this article goes, I agree with Darwin's thoughts on books. However, I believe that stockpiling books isn't a bad choice bad. There are a few advantages of doing this. For one, you can use your literature as a reference, and it's more well rounded. This way, when someone asks if you have _____ book, you have it, and can look up certain things. For example, lets take the classic ace assembly. Learning many variants to the classic Vernon Slow Motion Aces is fantastic, expecially at a convention or a little inner circle meeting with the boys. Read up on say.... at least 5 versions of the ace assembly. That way, you have a more well rounded idea of how others think, yet you also demonstrate your knowledge on the subject. The guys will really buy into your studying. Vernon's Aces, Carpenter's Aces, Hitchcock Aces, Jazz Aces, Progressive Aces, Rollover Aces (only kidding), Backfire Assemblies......... And the list goes on.


That is one way to look at reading.

Even on stockpiling books, you still should read them.



From another point of view, I NEVER will read a book with deck in hand. I can guarantee that if you do this, it'll take you ten times longer to learn the trick than to read the article beforehand. What I do is I read through the book and on an index card, I write down tricks that interest me. For one thing, not all books will have things that interest your taste in magic, especially cards. One read, I check out my index, re read the trick, and then read it with deck in hand. This way, you get an idea of what is actually going on, along with when each move or sleight or patterline or beat needs to be taken to action. A great example of this would be Terry LaGerould's work.

One of the most common F-ed up tricks that I have come across is Dingle's Rollover Aces. And with numerous encounters, many people that have the book that I have chatted with, including myself, have messed up the shuffling sequence in that trick mainly because of ill-reading. (You'll see what I mean if you have the book).



Anyways, that is my opinion on books and how they should be read and cherished.
 
Some of my other hobbies are more expensive than magic. However, the combination of relatively low income and demanding hobbies taught me a thing or two. Whenever possible, I will find free resources (legitimate free resources), such as library books, public domain books online or free tricks some magic creators give away as samples. I will get things secondhand if possible. The most important thing I will ask will be 'this looks cool done by someone else, but does it really fit my personality and performance style?'. Some things would be culturally inappropriate for me to do. Alas, balloon eating or card to pant zip should probably not be done by someone who looks like a teenage girl. Geek magic is EFFIN AWESOME. Should I do it? No. It is like seeing a piece of clothing on someone else and admitting that they look great in it, but refraining from copying them because you have a different body type, skin tone or overall dress sense for example. Also, even if you can pull ir off you can wind up in a situation where you're standing outside of a club and there are 30 other people dressed exactly the same as you. That has never happened to me, but I've walked past many a cluster of such people, wondering if it was deliberate. Of course, appropriate skill level is the deal sealer - struggling on one effect and pulling it off badly, when in the same time I could learn several pleasing but simple effects is a no go. I suppose the lesson is - if you see a stranger, follow him. Oh wait. No. Being frugal and thoughtful in anything is useful. Yeah.
 

WitchDocIsIn

Elite Member
Sep 13, 2008
5,877
2,945
I've come to realize that being broke can actually be really beneficial to a starting magician. In the same situation myself. I make plenty of money at my job, but not enough to spend frivolously. Therefore I have to either earn money through performance to buy more magic, or wait until my birthday or the holidays come around to get stuff.

It's a lot easier to wait on the new freshness when it's a choice between that and food.
 
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