Happy 50th Birthday to me!

Good morning magic fans. Got some new toys on Friday. Still
getting late 50th birthday presents to myself.
Didn't get one from you, though? Have something you want
reviewed? Send it to me and I will share it with others
through my newsletter and my MagicReviews.com web site.

This week I received the biography of John Calvert and I am
excited. This man fascinates me. I can't think of anyone
else alive who has accomplished as much as he has. I grabbed a
used copy on Amazon that was autographed "To Stephanie, We
have a secret, John." Hmm, I wonder if I could white-out
part of the name and then forge "To Steve ..."

I also received Aaron Fisher's Panic. This is the effect
Blaine performed on his last special where he puts 4 Kings
in his back pocket and then visually makes the deck
disappear and change into the 4 Kings, and the deck is now
found in the back pocket.

I watched the Theory 11 video over and over again and was
convinced it used a pull. Boy, did I feel stupid when I
received the gimmick. I am amazed at how good this really
looks and how easy it is to perform. Just takes a little
guts and salesmanship. Very powerful effect. Aaron's video
teaches the nuances very well. You can't go wrong with this
one.

I also received a new Bicycle Guardian deck from Theory 11.
Beautiful cards. Now I just need to break them in and get
some fanning powder so I can start practicing all those
cool fans Ciappi teaches on Extreme Beginnerz 2. Do they
still make Suzzee to powder cards? How do you get your best
results?

Can I assist you in your marketing efforts? Drop me an
email and let's talk!

Stay well,

Steven

Gecko Schmecko

Good evening, folks. A quick review on a hot item for you.
I know many of you will reach for your wallets when you
see the online video for Gecko, and if I can save you the
money, I'd like to!

I was surfing the online shops when I stumbled upon the
promotional video for Gecko, one of the latest visual
vanishes from ellusionist.com.

When I saw the video, I smiled. First, the guy makes a cell
phone vanish (he's wearing a light jacket with sleeves
rolled up) and then he makes an empty can of Coke vanish
followed by a long glass beer bottle. I looked at the video
multiple times and even though logic dictates it is a pull
or a holdout, I could not figure out how it vanished things
so quickly.

So I bought it and it arrived within 2 days. I opened the
box and found two devices, one for vanishing light weight
items and one for heavier items (presumably phones and
bottles).

The packaging and DVD warn you not to vanish glass or metal
items, and to be careful that you don't damage things
belonging to a spectator.

I pulled out the gimmicks and added up the raw costs for
procuring the materials and making this device: about
$1.00-2.00. The effect sells for $59.95. This is really
nothing new with one small exception and that is in the way
you affix items to the device prior to vanishing them. Think
about how Gecko's catch flies and you'll be close.

Now, normally I would not cry over a purchase if it allows
me to perform the effect as advertised. But first they warn
me not to do the effects they show online and then they do
not show how to do them on the DVD. Instead Andy the
narrator teaches you how to do semi-lame-o tricks like
changing quarters to half dollars or restoring a bent
bottle cap. Can someone say French Drop?

For $59.95.

For a box with cord elastic, catgut, safety pins and, oh
yes, that certain something special that you can only buy
in an office supply store for about $2.00.

Granted, some thought went into this. About $2.00 worth.

Yes, the video looks fantastic. You will laugh when the beer
bottle vanishes. Of course, in real life (you know that
place where these guys do not live), you probably can not
vanish a beer bottle without attracting a lot of attention
to that man behind the curtain, or in this case, the big
lump under your jacket. And if it flies too fact, it might
hurt you or the guy standing beside you.

So I've decided to come out with my own version of Gecko. I
am going to call it Skink. You know those little blue/green
lizards you see around your pool or backyard and when you
grab their tail, it snaps off and keeps moving by itself as
if it has invisible thread on it. I once watched a tail wiggle
for over 20 minutes while sipping a beer on my porch. Looked
better than Sean's Dancing Handkerchief. No threads either.

Only with Skink, it will only cost you $9.99 for the $2.00
worth of raw materials. I figure I will still make $7.99
profit on it, and people will love me because I am honest.
I'll teach how to use Skink to vanish a pencil or a packet
of sugar or a coin, but no borrowed rings because I would
not want to worry you about liability insurance or
something like that. And I would not want you to have to
invest an hour to learn a French Drop to accomplish the
same illusion.

Repeat after me: Magic can be dangerous.

Especially when dealers package this crap and position it
as if it was something unique and new and different to
justify the exorbitant price and it really turns out to be
a piece of inexpensive crap with very expensive packaging.

Gecko. Skinks.

Who needs them.

If I were president, we'd take all these dealers out behind
a barn somewhere and tie them up with Geckos, and we would use
that "special something" you can buy at office supply
stores and stick them all over their bodies and peel them
very slowly, until they scream and writhe in pain.

Gecko. $59.95.

Skink. Only $9.99.

Watch for it at your favorite dealer.