Dustings #110

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This is a heads-up for supporters of the site who are currently at the $10 level.

Amazingly—and for the first time ever since we started producing books—no books got lost in the mail this year. I mean, some did get lost, but they eventually found their way back to me via the postal service. So I have a few extra copies of the last book, Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon, available. The link to buy these copies will be in the email that accompanies the newsletter at noon (New York time) on Sunday, June 2nd.

There are only a few copies and they will likely sell within minutes, which is why I’m letting you know about it now. So if you’re interested, you can make sure to be at your computer at that time to have the best chance of getting a copy.

Yes, i know about Copperfield. Waiting for more details to emerge before I have a take on it.

A couple of people asked what trick I was referring to in Tuesday’s post. The one where I wrote:

“Did you know there's a way to get people to forget something just by tapping a specific rhythm on the table? Apparently it's a rhythm that mimics something that occurs in the womb during the pre-memory/pre-consciousness phase of development. And it makes people very forgetful. I'll show you. I'm going to draw something on my phone, I want you to remember every element.”

The trick is A Cute Memory Loss which is part of the Jerx App, but you can find other tricks out there with similar premises. I was inspired by a Sankey trick using the Out to Lunch principle. The cool thing about ACML is that you can use their phone to record the whole thing (from your perspective). So they have this video recording of you showing them a drawing (that they sign) on your phone and you can make them forget one element of the drawing. It’s been a go-to impromptu piece for me for years.

This is kind of cool. It’s a compass that you can make point to any location you want.

At first I thought there might be some way to use it in a magical context where your friend doesn’t know it’s a special compass. But that seems unlikely. However, it still may have some use in a magic presentation insofar as it would be a unique way to guide someone wherever you want for some magical purpose.

It’s launching on kickstarter in a month or so.

I want to get your thinking about something.

Take a look at this effect by Mark Mason called Quartet.

Now, when I watch that trick, I think:

“That looks great.”

then

“I don’t know how he did that.”

then

“I bet if I could look at those cards, I’d know the answer.”

That is my experience of the trick as someone who has been studying magic for 30+ years.

And I pretty much assume that’s the exact experience a non-magician would have.

By my definition, the trick didn’t fool me. I just don’t know specifically how it works. And so, by my definition, it wouldn’t necessarily “fool” a layman.

So my question for you is… When it comes to tricks like this, which comes closest to how you feel about things:

I’m not trying to lead anywhere with this question, necessarily. Like I don’t have a future post in mind when I ask it. I’m just curious what the consensus is.

Remember, next week is Splooge week. Come back in June if you’re not interested in that content.