Dustings #76

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I was sad that I couldn’t find pics online of Max Maven in his suit jacket with no shirt underneath phase, luscious chest hair flowing in the breeze, as remembered by Mac King in Monday’s post. Fortunately a couple readers who apparently have hard-drives full of sexy magician pics were able to send some shots where we get a peek of that mane. Thanks to Chris C., and Clark P.

Another Chris C., directed me to this YouTube video which I hadn’t seen before. He writes:

Something about todays post [Tuesday’s post on the Modest Mentalism stage presentations] just reminded me of this stupid Matt Colbo video. It’s much the antithesis to your idea but I figured you’d enjoy it.

I did enjoy it. If nothing else, it’s the most convincing version of one person playing two people that I’ve seen in a YouTube video.

How to Use the Cafe’s Latest and Greatest Section

The Magic Cafe’s “Latest and Greatest” section is one of the few areas of that site where anyone spends any time anymore. When the Cafe was thriving, it was easy to get sucked in there and spend a lot of time following the hype for some new trick or some moronic debate. These days, most of that discussion has gone other places online, but you can still find useful information there from time to time.

I don’t have the time or inclination to waste much time on that site, so here is how I go about getting the most value from that section with the smallest investment of time.

  • Once a week or so I stop by the the Cafe and visit that section.

  • I take a look at the new threads that have started since I last was there.

  • I make note of any new tricks that sound or look interesting. I specifically note their release date.

  • Two weeks after a trick has been released, I visit the thread for that trick. Are people happy with it? Are people pissed with it? If it’s getting solid reviews at this time, then I’ll purchase it. More often than not though, people are logging their complaints with the product and I’ve saved myself some money by not getting swept up in the initial hype.

  • Two or three months later, I’ll revisit the thread for a trick that I purchased and see any new ideas, handlings, etc. that people have come up for it.

That’s pretty much it. I don’t follow threads. I don’t post. This is my system for using the Cafe as a resource, as opposed to what it can be: a profound waste of time. (I’m not judging anyone who spends a lot of time there. When I had a desk job, I’m sure I spent more time perusing that dumb site than actually working. But now that I work for myself, my time is more valuable. I’m generally not looking to kill time anymore. )

I’m working on the first Jerx Almanac, which is going out to supporters on January 1st, in the newsletter slot. I mentioned this many months ago. This ebook is going to break down what I’ve found to be the best tool in different categories. Which thumb writer, which marked deck, etc.

Two ways you can help the project:

  1. If you have a category of “tool” you’d like for me to address in the e-book that I might not have considered, let me know.

  2. There are two things I’d like your input on. And those are A) Impression Pads and B) mystery box/card to box/small prediction box (like Vision Box). The ones that I use and would recommend are no longer available. So while I’ll mention what they are, I don’t want to leave people hanging with no good alternative. So if you have an impression pad or mystery box type thing that you would HIGHLY RECOMMEND, please pass the recommendation my way so I can check it out. Thanks.