Magic Duds

Good morning magic fans. Hope all is well in your
respective part of the world. As I continue to develop
routines for a potential MC/table hopping gig here in
Tulsa, I am always lurking for good deals on eBay.

Today I want to tell you about two things you might want to
stay away from on eBay or elsewhere. The first is the
Appearing, Floating Microphone Stand and the second is the
Cut-No-Cut Scissors from Bazar de Magia.

I thought an appearing mike stand that floats could be a
great way to open an evening. You look for a mike, can't
find one, so you produce your own. Then you make it float.
Seems logical.

But the second I opened this package I knew I would be
disappointed. From a distance this probably looks great but
from a foot away, the mike stand looks too thick. The silver
pipe appears to be about 4 inch around. It's big.

As to its ability to float, all I can say is you better
have really long and strong fingers. The traditional Zombie
gimmick is too short and the included foulard is too big.
The net result is a mike stand that floats about a foot
away from one end of the three foot square cloth. Looks
silly.

And considering it is largely made of a tube of mylar, it
is extremely heavy. The gimmick slides into a hole wider
than a cigarette -- it is a loose fit -- so you get this
kind of swaying, dancing mike stand effect which looks,
frankly, like the stand is hanging on something, which it
is.

A big disappointment and reposted to ebay faster than you
can say "Omar Pasha".

I also have been working on a cut and restored rope routine
where I actually place the rope in the spectator's hands --
bold but helps sell the fact the rope is actually cut in
two pieces. I remembered back to my youth, which is getting
harder to do these days, and remembered seeing Bob
McCallister do a cut and restored rope routine on Wonderama
with a variety of different gimmicked comedy scissors.

You can buy this collection of scissors from Bazar de Magia for
over $300.00, but I thought it might be wise to check out
their basic Cut-No-Cut scissor before further considering
the entire set. Good move on my part.

Again, maybe it is the size of my hands, but I could not
open or close this scissors with my right hand. Even with
two hands it was difficult. Oddly enough, I could work the
scissors with my left hand only. Even then it took some
working at it before I could do it semi-reliably. Bottom
line: I understand the gimmick must be made a certain way
to prevent a spectator from ruining the effect, but Lord,
what's the purpose of making the scissors so tough to open
or close if the magician can't do it either.

I've reposted a bunch of things to eBay, so take a look at
some bargain basement merchandise.

I've also been developing my own web site to promote myself
as a magician. This is a real challenge for me since I have
no referenceable act or business. I'm just another rank
amateur, so I've taken a more personal approach, sharing
pictures and anecdotes about my life in magic. It's still a
work in progress, but it's coming along. You can check it
out here:

http://www.sophisticatedsorcery.com

Your comments are welcomed.

Until next time,


Steven