Recently, I mentioned an effect out of the Harris books in an A of A thread. I had someone PM me and ask me what the effect was. I replied, “I will give you 3 guesses” and he replied back, “It would be more useful if you just told me”...that quessing 3 out of 70-80 effects was "hardly odds (he) was prepared to take on" Now, this isn't meant to trash him, as it is a common approach. I went to just tell him, but then realized something.
Why should I? Why is it that Magicians feel they have a right to demand methods or effects that others have discovered or learnt? I put the work into researching it, finding it, learning it, putting it into use, discovering if it would play...then someone asks “What tricks are good” and I am supposed to forego the process of learning and growth for a simple post of “HERE THEY ARE”?
There was a time you would risk insulting someone when asking them where to find something they did professionally. Magicians these days seem to have the approach of a child nagging their mother for McDonalds. The ease of access to POOR QUALITY information has created a spoiled and smug generation of magicians, one that has many methods, yet NO knowledge of the art of magic. I find EVERY video I watch (with a few exceptions) lacking. Actually, if my magic was that poor a quality, not only would I not think of filming it, I wouldn’t show it to anyone but myself until I felt it was perfect.
IS THIS REAL LIFE? Yes David. Why is this happening? David, it is not because of the drugs the dentist gave you, it is because people are lazy, and just want to be told the easiest path. They don’t want to read a book and work for it. They want to learn methods, because somehow...down the line, it became methods that made you better, and not doing JUST ONE or TWO tricks better than anyone else. It became about learning for cheap and easy – rather than investing in a book and struggling to learn the methods of a secret nobody else knows. It is about having self respect for your magic, and seeing the value in doing something that takes effort. I know you practice your effects, but you miss the bigger picture of magic when your views are so narrow on this site and what is expected to become a great magician.
Why do I bring this up? A few reasons. It seems in magic now, the only thing that separates us is how we deliver an effect, our presentations, our character. We can get our hand on almost anything, when you guys name newer effects I don’t know. I YOUTUBE ‘em and see them 3 minutes later. This is the culture magic has become. As any effect performed and/or seen by the general magic public, is copied the next day. David Blaine bites a coin...for a year or so, a whack of you bit coins...you saw him do Exile...you bought Exile...you see Blaine do a one card transpo...every kid has a video doing a one card tranpo (or 2CM – which I hate that name for it, “Be Honest What is It – Eddie Fechter...we should all know that now, I digress). This is more evidence that you are all finding the same sources, and sharing them. It is sad to see how much information is out there, how little it is respected, and how so many of you can’t find that information – thank god
Why should I? Why is it that Magicians feel they have a right to demand methods or effects that others have discovered or learnt? I put the work into researching it, finding it, learning it, putting it into use, discovering if it would play...then someone asks “What tricks are good” and I am supposed to forego the process of learning and growth for a simple post of “HERE THEY ARE”?
There was a time you would risk insulting someone when asking them where to find something they did professionally. Magicians these days seem to have the approach of a child nagging their mother for McDonalds. The ease of access to POOR QUALITY information has created a spoiled and smug generation of magicians, one that has many methods, yet NO knowledge of the art of magic. I find EVERY video I watch (with a few exceptions) lacking. Actually, if my magic was that poor a quality, not only would I not think of filming it, I wouldn’t show it to anyone but myself until I felt it was perfect.
IS THIS REAL LIFE? Yes David. Why is this happening? David, it is not because of the drugs the dentist gave you, it is because people are lazy, and just want to be told the easiest path. They don’t want to read a book and work for it. They want to learn methods, because somehow...down the line, it became methods that made you better, and not doing JUST ONE or TWO tricks better than anyone else. It became about learning for cheap and easy – rather than investing in a book and struggling to learn the methods of a secret nobody else knows. It is about having self respect for your magic, and seeing the value in doing something that takes effort. I know you practice your effects, but you miss the bigger picture of magic when your views are so narrow on this site and what is expected to become a great magician.
Why do I bring this up? A few reasons. It seems in magic now, the only thing that separates us is how we deliver an effect, our presentations, our character. We can get our hand on almost anything, when you guys name newer effects I don’t know. I YOUTUBE ‘em and see them 3 minutes later. This is the culture magic has become. As any effect performed and/or seen by the general magic public, is copied the next day. David Blaine bites a coin...for a year or so, a whack of you bit coins...you saw him do Exile...you bought Exile...you see Blaine do a one card transpo...every kid has a video doing a one card tranpo (or 2CM – which I hate that name for it, “Be Honest What is It – Eddie Fechter...we should all know that now, I digress). This is more evidence that you are all finding the same sources, and sharing them. It is sad to see how much information is out there, how little it is respected, and how so many of you can’t find that information – thank god