#penguin magic

Magic dealer, creator, consultant, lecturer, and performer, Paul Richards joins us this week as we talk about a treasure chest full of topics. Paul has been at the epicenter of innovation first as a brick and mortar magic shop owner, then online dealer, coordinator of one day magic events, as well as a well-known and highly respected magic dealer. He is often seen at all of the large magic conventions like Blackpool, MAGIC Live!, Magifest, and others.

As a result of being in the forefront of magic innovation, keep that in perspective as you listen to this week’s episode. You will see some trends that have started and perhaps get some idea of where we’re going…at least from Paul’s perspective. But you can use your own precognitive powers to prognosticate what the future of magic will bring us. This is just your “leaping off” place.

Paul has recently returned from the Blackpool magic convention in England and has a lot to say about that event But he also attends many other conventions throughout the year as a dealer and he gives us his perspective on their differences. He was the creator of the “Real Magic Roadshow” that featured a handful of magic creators in a sort of one day mini-convention. He also talks this week about his Elmwood Magic Shop which was a brick and mortar shop in Buffalo, New York, and the future of these storefront shops versus online sellers.

As the host of the Penguin Podcast, Erik Tait is the “Voice of Penguin Magic.” Each week he shares the mic with other magicians as he talks about magic and the occasional ad thrown in here and there. More than a “voice” Erik is the “real deal” as he has his own creations and proven “chops” as he teaches and performs close-up magic. Over the past few years he has set his sites on competing in the World Championships of Magic (FISM). That meant several, and I mean several, practice sessions and performances that all led up to his appearance as a competitor in Quebec this past summer. It was worth it and paid off as Erik took home third place in Card Magic against a sea of competitors from around the world.

This week Erik talks about his podcast (content and guest selection) , his tireless work towards achieving his goal of winning at FISM, his work at Penguin, his passion for editing and creating, and we talk about piracy in our communitu and why you shouldn’t do it.

Inside Magic Review of Honey Bee Playing Cards

Any deck of playing cards are magic cards and if there is one thing we love it is cards.

In the 12 decades we’ve been performing, we have always used cards.  For the first part of our career, when we were young and impetuous (assuming impetuous means what we think it means), and we are reluctant to admit this but know we are among friends, we even used bridge dimensioned decks with borders and…

David Hira connects with his audience. He knows how to "break the fourth wall" between the stage and the audience. It is a skill that has been honed and refined over decades of performing experience and literally (not figuratively) HUNDREDS of shows per year. David has transitioned from magic to keynote speaking and taken his skill across the country and indeed, the globe.

David Hira is not a "celebrity name" that every magician knows. But after his recent lecture on Penguin Magic and this podcast, perhaps you will not forget him. For indeed, you will learn and use his ideas for being a better performer and business person.

David may be one of those guys who ?flies beneath the radar" of other magicians because he is "out there" working and not trying to promote himself to his magic peers through convention appearances. But now that he is reaching the retirement age, David plans to slow down and...well, that's what will be the surprise near the end of this podcast. He reveals plans for his "next move"...both figuratively and literally.

In this podcast, David talks about his printed Introduction Form that he gives to the speaker who will introduce him. You can download this FREE gift from David by Clicking Here.

And for more information on David's new professional coaching program he talks about on this podcast, be sure to visit ActUpNow.com

Yigal Mesika is the Loop guy. He bought the rights for invisible, stretchable bands from Finn Jon at the turn of this century and he hasn't once regretted his decision. He has focused his creative effort towards finding new ways wot use invisible thread to create mystery.

If you are not aware of it, Yigal is near the end of a lawsuit with Penguin Magic where he is trying to protect his intellectual rights/property. Within the next few hours after this podcast is released, they will be going into mediation and, if not resolved, will go to court. This is discussed near the end of this podcast.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:02:23 - Yigal Mesika talks about the development of his trademark Loops and he gives us some tips that he shared during his presentations at this year's MAGIC Live! He also talks about his development of the Spider Pen and the new Tarantula. He concludes this podcast with his thoughts on the importance of patronizing originators of tricks and the current lawsuit he has filed against Penguin Magic.

00:57:22 - Review of "Creativity Boost" CD by Brian Watson, a 28 day affirmation for you to boost your own creativity through self-hypnosis. Recommended.

01:01:47 - Review of "Indigo" by Beautiful Mind Magic is a four-way prediction with one revelation. It is a nice prop that requires a little DIY (Do It Yourself).

Star Wars Is Source For Magic Pranks

As all of you certainly realize, the Internet is suffering from a serious case of Star Wars fever with release of The Force Awakens. Magician and Prankster Rahat has been looking to the Star Wars franchise for source material for his live guerilla magical pranks by performing Jedi tricks and pranks for random people across Los Angeles. Rahat is well known for his magical pranks that appear on the…

With the hype of this release followed by Ricky fooling Master Magicians Penn and Teller on Fool Us, I feel like it is appropriate to write a review of the download I acquired about a year ago. And let me say, the effect and method of this download is pretty great. 

I must admit I haven’t really performed this effect all that much. The reasons are because a) there is a set up for the effect that I usually do not have set up when performing and b) I enjoy performing other effects that make it hard to routine this with unless I perform some kind of switch. He does offer a way to do this effect without a setup, which I liked, but I never really practiced that. 

Another thing to note is that this effect really isn’t a “magic trick” per se but a demonstration of skill. Being a card cheat and escape artist, I do not see this as much of an issue when done in the right setting, but I personally would not mix this effect with magic tricks because I feel it would just weaken the impact this trick has on the spectators.

The download is very well done. We start with a little trailer preview, followed by an introduction from Ricky, followed by a full uncut performance of the entire routine, followed by a tutorial of the first phase, a practice session for the first phase, a tutorial of the second part, some loose ideas that he throws around, and finally a wrap up by Ricky. Throughout the download, Ricky offers many, many helpful tips and goes in depth on how to sell the illusion that you have memorized the entire deck. If there is one thing that Ricky does well besides creating cool effects (though there’s many things he does well), it would be teaching. This download covers pretty much everything you need to know on performing this effect. 

Get this effect on Penguin Magic now: http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/3905