Dustings #34
/I mentioned this in passing before, but given the number of emails I’ve received, I didn’t put a fine enough point on it. The first newsletter for this year’s supporters will be going out later this month. Probably around the 20th give or take a few days.
Magician’s Timing
The term “big dick energy” gained prominence about three years ago as we can see on this Google Trends graph where the searches shoot up right at the end.
Guess at what point some magicians put out a show called “Big Trick Energy”?
Timely!
You might think that’s a terrible name for a show, but I’m sure the executives at TruTV (where it’s airing) were just like, “Name it whatever the fuck you want. As long as it’s not as convoluted a name as ‘The Carbonaro Effect,’ then we’re good.”
And the guys behind the show were like, “It’s called Big Trick Energy! You know, like big dick energy. But we substituted ‘trick’ for ‘dick’ because we do magic tricks. (And because our penises are just adequate at best, if we’re being 100% honest.)”
TruTV Exec: Sure. Whatever. Fine. Call the show Abracadouchebags if you want. As long as we don’t have to spend 45 minutes explaining it every time it comes up, we cool.
Here’s an ad for the show…
BUCKET LIST: Using RUN DMC on my TV show promo!! @truTV #bigtrickenergy pic.twitter.com/enqybaep7i
— Chris Ramsay (@chrisramsay52) March 24, 2021
I wish them the best of luck. I’ll be curious to see how the show does. A prank show with four magicians where they “mess with each other” may sound like a great idea, but it seems like it would be really difficult in execution. I think what people love about prank shows, or things like the Carbonaro Effect, or even just a David Blaine special is that they have this fake thing—the prank or the magic trick—but we get to see people’s genuine reactions to that fake thing. If the reactions to Blaine’s tricks didn’t feel legitimate, he never would have had a special in the first place.
But from the clips I’ve seen, when it comes to this show, everything seems fake. The tricks, the reactions, even their reactions to the reactions. And, of course, they would have to be fake. If we’re a bunch of magicians on a show together and you “crush my car with the power of your mind” then my real reaction is going to be, “Huh. Would ya look at that.” I’m not going to be freaking out, because I know we’re magicians on a tv show.
So it’s this weird situation where you have a phony reaction to a phony scenario. My gut tells me that’s going to make it difficult for people to connect to the show in any real way. But what the hell do I know? You have that same situation with fake reactions to fake situations all over facebook and the videos have millions of views. I’m just not sure how well that will translate to tv. For their sake, I hope it’s a hit.
I have to say, watching that commercial reminded me of how much more powerful magic is when it’s not in front of an audience or someone holding a tv camera. I really think magic for just a small group (ideally 1-on-1) in a casual/social situation is the most powerful magic there is, everything else being equal. There’s a moment in that commercial above where a woman breaks a plate-glass window with her mind and her reaction is about 20% of the reaction I get when I have someone knock a pen off the table with their mind in my apartment.
That’s not a reflection on me as a performer. That’s just the difference of someone experiencing something in an intimate interaction as opposed to one that’s meant to be broadcast to the world.
Andy’s Bible Updates
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I’ve started reading the bible. And now it’s time for my bible update.
But this is supposed to be a magic blog!
Beat it. This is my blog. My magic and bible blog now. If you don’t like it, hit the bricks.
The particular bible I’m using is this one, where the bible is broken up into a reading program that lasts the course of a year. Each day you read some of the old testament, some of the new testament, some of psalms and proverbs.
The entry for April 3rd was a particularly bonkers day in this bible. We’re in Deuteronomy and Moses is wrapping up with the Israelites and letting them know some of the rules they need to follow. (If you thought the 10 commandments were the only rules to follow, you’re incredibly mistaken.)
Here are some highlights from the April 3rd entry…
Honestly, that would feel like the least of my problems at that moment.
Ok, fair enough, Moses. But actually, if the concern is about me being “defiled,” I think I’d feel much more defiled walking around all day in the desert sun with the dried jiz flaking off my stomach. Any chance I can take that bath in the morning?
And finally, here is one of my favorite excerpts of the bible so far. It’s a longer one, so I won’t use a photo, but it’s worth the read…
Deuteronomy 25:5-10
“If two brothers are living together on the same property and one of them dies without a son, his widow may not be married to anyone from outside the family. Instead, her husband’s brother should marry her and have intercourse with her to fulfill the duties of a brother-in-law. The first son she bears to him will be considered the son of the dead brother, so that his name will not be forgotten in Israel.
“But if the man refuses to marry his brother’s widow, she must go to the town gate and say to the elders assembled there, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to preserve his brother’s name in Israel—he refuses to fulfill the duties of a brother-in-law by marrying me.’ The elders of the town will then summon him and talk with him. If he still refuses and says, ‘I don’t want to marry her,’ the widow must walk over to him in the presence of the elders, pull his sandal from his foot, and spit in his face. Then she must declare, ‘This is what happens to a man who refuses to provide his brother with children.’ Ever afterward in Israel his family will be referred to as ‘the family of the man whose sandal was pulled off’!
Okay guys, you hear that? Is it clear to you? Hey… look…you’re not being pressured into anything. You have a choice. You either fulfill your brother-in-law “duties,” and bang your brother’s widow or this business about the sandal is going to come out. And buddy, let me tell you, it’s going to be all over Israel. Everybody is going to hear about it. So if you’re thinking, “Oh, well, gee, it probably won’t be that bad. It will blow over soon enough.” No. Don’t get it twisted. We’re going to be talking about that sandal thing ever afterward.
Usually when a magician becomes famous there are numerous copycats that come out of the woodwork Blaine created a number of street-magic clones. Derren Brown spawned a bunch of “psychological illusionists.” David Copperfield had his followers, complete with the wind-swept hair and the Peter Gabriel soundtrack.
Yet, for some reason, nobody that I know (other than myself) has run with this style of performance and presentation which—in my opinion—is the finest in the history of magic.
For those of you who are curious what it’s like to see me perform, it’s pretty much this. I look like a total creep, but I sing the catchiest song you’ve ever heard. And my audiences are primarily composed of pre-pubescent future serial killers.
Also, I’m not too proud to admit I was fooled by the balloon trick. This commercial is a mix of real magic and fake bullshit, so I don’t really know if it’s possible. Is there some sort of tubing system allowing this to happen? Is it just a clip run in reverse with him lip-syncing backwards? I admit, the Marvelous Magical Burger King has fooled me with that one.