theory11 — Magic Tricks & the World's Finest Playing Cards
my magic collection $$
- Thread starter cmelo69
- Start date
Your magic collection is like 12 DVD's one book and many, many deck's of cards. Short of a few rare cards there is nothing in your collection which is eye catching.
Agreed, it has become more like "look what I have" as aposed to "look what I practiced and can perform" Don't get me wrong, it's nice to have alot of of items to choose from, but the basics are not being learned by the new generation.
Jeremy
At one point in time my mentor alone had the largest private collection of magic ON THE PLANET (actually noted in several history references including the Who's Who of Magic) when we tossed in my pile of junk there was over 300 major illusions and at least twice as many hand-props + books, posters, autographed photos, show premiums, etc. We are talking about huge chunks of equipment from the Kellar, Thurston, Dante, Blackstone (Sr) shows and others.
Now, how do you expect to impress me with this collection?
I'm not saying that to be mean, I'm trying to give you a sense of perspective. Yes, for you there is a sense of obtainment and even accomplishment but as has been asked, "What can you do with it?"
That mountain of stuff Kirkham and I had made us poor because we had to bust our butts to keep it in safe, dry storage + repair costs and more. Being a pack-rat means little to nothing if you can't enjoy what you have and too, if what you have doesn't reflect both quality and HONEST (humbled) pride . . . kind of like enjoying a good book just for the sake of doing so.
Today, I wouldn't give you a nickel for any of that stuff. Sure, I'm still and will always be an information junky so I'll have mountains of books and some DVDs here and there, but not so much when it comes to props. Too, because of the style of magic I do now days, few of the props I have would be easily identified by the untrained eye (and even then, I still deceive many). BUT, such things are only important to me. My associates might appreciate the craftsmanship of this or that item and even how I present said effects, but just because I have such things. . . It really doesn't impress much of anyone unless it's a very rare, coveted item of magic history.
Again, I'm not trying to put you down, just trying to show you the value of perspective and too, to encourage you to find material that has actual value to you and how you work as a performer/creative artist. This is far more important than having piles of crap.
Now, how do you expect to impress me with this collection?
I'm not saying that to be mean, I'm trying to give you a sense of perspective. Yes, for you there is a sense of obtainment and even accomplishment but as has been asked, "What can you do with it?"
That mountain of stuff Kirkham and I had made us poor because we had to bust our butts to keep it in safe, dry storage + repair costs and more. Being a pack-rat means little to nothing if you can't enjoy what you have and too, if what you have doesn't reflect both quality and HONEST (humbled) pride . . . kind of like enjoying a good book just for the sake of doing so.
Today, I wouldn't give you a nickel for any of that stuff. Sure, I'm still and will always be an information junky so I'll have mountains of books and some DVDs here and there, but not so much when it comes to props. Too, because of the style of magic I do now days, few of the props I have would be easily identified by the untrained eye (and even then, I still deceive many). BUT, such things are only important to me. My associates might appreciate the craftsmanship of this or that item and even how I present said effects, but just because I have such things. . . It really doesn't impress much of anyone unless it's a very rare, coveted item of magic history.
Again, I'm not trying to put you down, just trying to show you the value of perspective and too, to encourage you to find material that has actual value to you and how you work as a performer/creative artist. This is far more important than having piles of crap.
I was going to say something a bit more advice like until I just read Craig's post. Everyone before that was stitching together a cloth...and Craig added the chloroform.
So, since nothing else needs to be said about that...then, I'll trade you for the over-sized nickle @ 2:41 with a pack of bubblicious and a chocolate milk shake. Deal?
Nah, I changed my mind...
- Steve
So, since nothing else needs to be said about that...then, I'll trade you for the over-sized nickle @ 2:41 with a pack of bubblicious and a chocolate milk shake. Deal?
Nah, I changed my mind...
- Steve
Your lucky to have what you do. Take care of it and use it well. You have enough material to perform for years, learn it and do it 
Your lucky to have what you do. Take care of it and use it well. You have enough material to perform for years, learn it and do it
+1. Well said.
Your lucky to have what you do. Take care of it and use it well. You have enough material to perform for years, learn it and do it
thanks for the only positive feedbackk lol
Cmelo,
View that collection as you would a set of tools in a workshop. Or view that collection as food items spread upon a table before a chef.
What will you choose to do with your tools?
View that collection as you would a set of tools in a workshop. Or view that collection as food items spread upon a table before a chef.
What will you choose to do with your tools?
Understanding why you receive negative feedback is more important than accepting positive feedback.
In my mind this is probably the best piece of advice in this thread so far. Just in general. cmelo, what was the point of this video? If it was to show us what is in your magic collection at the moment, well done. If it was to show OFF your magic collection at the moment, consider why you need to do that and perhaps reconsider your motivations for doing magic in the first place.
On the flipside, to everyone who posted that he now needs to learn the tricks, the description of the video says he's had the collection for two years. I doubt he just bought it all but didn't learn any of the material in two years. That seems like a huge waste of money. Not saying he should keep buying, just saying don't immediately jump to the worst conclusion.
In my years of being around this stuff I find that most newbies go on a massive spending spree during their first 3-5 years of being around magic; every new piece that gets any sort of hype or Tv exposure becomes the next thing to buy . . . even Copperfield used to complain about how his annual Tv specials were a shopping guide for stage performers. But too, I know from both, observation and experience that 90% of what one buys ends up a dust collector; especially in that first few years of exposure. On the flip side of that coin, I've found that the magic one makes based on what we learn from books, tends to get far more respect and use than the store-bought junk that we end up weeding out via eBay or worse, the trash can, some years later (personally I think magic is best served by passing on such discards, to a new student that's proven worthy. It reflects good on you and encourages the novice at the same time).
Most that have an arsenal of this sort however, rarely know more than the basics behind how to use a gaffed deck, for an example. They haven't read up on the many ways that particular type of deck can be manipulated. I've blown away more card guys by ringing in a Svengali deck than I can count; mainly due to the fact that they would rather finger-fling and learn redundant technique rather than think about simplicity and how to use the tools we have available. Heck, I got stumped by Doug Henning when he used a fifty-cent gaff on the Carson show . . . a gimmick that's in nearly every child's magic kit out there and it fooled me and dozens of others because of how it was incorporated.
When I get critical on someone with this type of collection it's because I know they've not learned how to use that material in 9 our of 10 instances. And too, I know that in the majority of cases it is a genuine waste of cash but I'm betting 99% of this forum's membership has more than a drawer or two of effects that fit that same description or else they've already parced such pieces out in some way. We all get sucked in by the ads and the fantasy tied to them; how this particular piece will make us shine brightly in people's eyes when the gaff or effect itself, isn't the secret to creating "enchantment" as some have called it.
Having a collection for two years doesn't really mean much and I doubt that he has actually learned and used many of the things he owns. I seem to recall Jason England saying that he has a huge library that he collected over the years and when he finally got around to reading everything, it took him around 2 years to finish reading it all.
It's one thing to be a tool collector, it's a completely different thing to know to properly use those tools to build a house.
It's one thing to be a tool collector, it's a completely different thing to know to properly use those tools to build a house.