Mailbag #22
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Ellusionist just sent out an email about the 1900s deck. Which is like the 1800s deck but a century newer I suppose. Do you have any uses for these? It seems like an old looking deck would have some potential. —DH
Yeah, I think these look great. The problem is, they feel brand new. So they’re good for display, but not good for something where the spectator is going to touch them. Which, for me, is most of the stuff I would want to do with them. Imagine a book with a dust-jacket that was designed to look old and tattered, but when you held it, you realized it was just printed that way. You would be more certain that that’s not really an old book than you would if I gave you something that wasn’t beaten up and just told you it was old. You would think, “Huh, well, maybe it is.” It’s the incongruity that would be suspicious.
That said, if you want an old looking card and you want to age them yourself, this would give you something of a head-start. Get them a little damp. Scuff them up a bit. Bang the corners on something.
Combine this with an Intercessor or similar gimmick and you can do some truly mind-blowing shit. As I described in this post.
I've been deep in a YouTube rabbit hole binging on videos by a freestyle rapper called Harry Mack.
This guy has an ability to freestyle rhyme that borders on the supernatural, and that's part of what made me see a parallel between what he does with strangers and what (good) magic, social or otherwise, should aim to do.
Check out this video of him approaching strangers at Venice Beach. Notice how every stranger he approaches begins with a sceptical look on their face. In fact, they often look downright suspicious (not unlike when a magician takes out a deck of cards or vaguely proposes 'a psychological experiment'). But then something wonderful happens.
He tells them honestly what he intends to do.
He exudes genuine positive social emotion. If you aren't on board, you'll be the one who looks weird or standoffish, not him.
He demonstrates a skill that's truly worthy of attention. Freestyle rap sounds like it could be fucking lame (like magic), but he's clearly a virtuoso.
He makes the raps about them. His rapping is good in general, but the moment they hear him mention their hat or their randomly suggested word, their faces light up.
He doesn't make fun of them or play one person off another. Everyone is welcome. It's one big party.
He thanks them for their energy and participation - he doesn't overtly expect their admiration.
I think there's a lot that magicians can learn from this type of non-magic video about what people actually value in social interactions. […]
It's not a huge discovery (most magicians, even on the magic cafe, know that the best magic puts the spectator's emotions in the spotlight), but I thought that the wonder this rapper creates in such a short amount of time encapsulates that principle really nicely. —JM
I think it's a good analogous situation. I personally can't imagine walking up to someone randomly with the intent of "performing" for them in any context. That’s not really my scene. But for people who do do that sort of thing, you’ve outlined some good things to keep in mind. And they certainly apply in less overt types of performances as well.
You’ve reminded me of some thoughts I want to give out on cold approaching which I’ll put in a post next week.
You said posts this year were going to be “short and stupid” but I haven’t noticed that. Is that still the plan? —JP
That’s not only the plan, that’s what is going to happen. It has to or it will just be unsustainable, time-management wise. The posts will be shorter and I’ll be on the “first 20 days of the month” schedule that I mentioned when this season started. This is something like my 75th day in a row posting. No one needs to hear from me that much.
