BuyiJet: iJet Nav - iJet Nav Pro Reviews

As a professional magician, I frequently need to be my own roadie, stage manager, lighting and sound man. It means I have to know a little bit about everything, and I need the right tools to make my job easier.

One of the biggest challenges entertainers like me have is controlling their background music. There are several niche audio products targeted at magicians that allow them to control their music, but most are quite expensive and complicated to use. I've seen some systems north of $1200.00; that's a major investment for just about anyone breaking into the business.

Recently, I came across a company called BuyiJet that sells a family of extremely affordable and powerful RF wireless remote controls for your iPod, iPhone and iPad devices. The basic iJet Nav consists of a small square adapter that plugs into your iPod and a wireless remote control you can carry in your pocket or wear on your belt. The 9 function remote control enables you to control the volume, pause, play, rewind or fast forward the music, or move forwards or backwards a track.

The adapter plugs into the slot where you normally plug in your iPod's synch cable and it also has a pass-through, so you can plug it into your computer or you could also use an iPod to USB/AC adapter to keep power running to the iPod if you wanted to. The adapter draws minimal power from your iPod, but if you are going to be running it for an extended period of time, using some type of AC cord is recommended.

Unlike its competitors, iJet Nav boasts a 150 foot range for their RF signal which travels around corners and through walls. The iJet Nav RF remote control works at considerable distance and does not need to be line of site to work well. I initially tested this on my daughter's iPod in her upstairs bedroom and connected it to her stereo quickly and easily. I then stepped back and started playing music. I walked outside of her room into another bedroom and was still able to control the music without any meaningful delays or problems.

Included are a bunch of accessories to help you connect your iPod to your stereo or loud speaker system. The clarity of your music is exceptional and there's no static or other audible interference or loss of quality. You plug in the right angle connector into your headphone jack, and then the supplied audio cable into the connector. The standard RCA jacks plug into your stereo, and bingo, you are ready to go.

The iJet Nav remote control is comfortable to hold, the buttons have a nice soft feel to them that respond well to your touch, and it is water resistant. The remote uses a standard round flat CR2025 battery available at any drugstore. You also receive additional mounts and clips to attach your iJet Nav remote control to your belt. This is a nice touch and great added value to the basic iJet Nav product which presently retails for around $24.95.

If you want to spend a little more money for enhanced functionality, the iJet Nav Pro sports a convenient docking station and 2-way RF wireless remote control with LED readout.


With the iJet Nav Pro, your iPod will draw power through the docking station, and there is no need for a separate adapter. You connect the docking station to your stereo or sound system using the audio cables supplied. Again, this is very plug and play and is a breeze to setup and use. Simply drop your iPod into place, and you are ready to go.

This iJet Nav Pro's wireless remote is rechargeable (from the docking station) and has the same easy-to-use functionality as the iJet Nav but it also features an LED readout so you can see what's playing. This makes track selection and navigation easy peasy!

The LED remote displays the Artist List, Play List, Song List, Current Song/Next Song, and Current Song/Artist. The controls include Equalizer Settings, Shuffle, Pause, Play, Next Song, Previous Song, Volume, Power Up/Down. Fast scroll through the Play List / Artist List / Song Lists real time via the RF wireless link and much more!

The iJet Nav Pro currently retails for under $75.00. That's a bargain at that price. To learn more about the iJet family of products, visit BuyiJet today.

Review: Nathan Kranzo's EZ Add a Number

I just received a copy of Nathan Kranzo's new "EZ Add a Number"
DVD. I enjoy Nathan's approach to mentalism. He has the unique
ability to take old principles and transform them into powerful
new routines. In the past, I have raved about his dictionary mind
reading effect, Diction, and I use it in all of my shows. I have
also seen him lecture, and he has technical chops. But the magic
I tend to enjoy most is the stuff that's easy to do and strong on
presentation. Effects that leave the audience wondering how you
did it, and that can be funny and play for 7-10 minutes.

"EZ Add a Number" is a mentalism effect with great audience
interaction. A watch is set to a random time by an audience
member, and placed into a bag which they hold for the duration of
the effect. Then you ask five people in the audience to think of
important years, and you ask them to write down the last two
digits of those years on a business card. You then have the
numbers totaled by another audience member, and the sum is
revealed aloud.

A comedy "sucker" prediction is revealed for a big laugh, but
then you ask the audience member holding the watch to reveal the
time and it is the same as the total of the freely selected
numbers. Then you ask three audience members to reach beneath
their chairs and reveal three giant numbers placed there before
the show, and they create a giant revelation of the same number!

"EZ Add a Number" is a great DVD. It features two live
presentations of the effect in two different venues and a
thorough explanation of the routine. The effect is very easy to
learn. The methods employed are simple to execute. The effect
packs very small and can be carried in your pocket or close-up
case. It presents wonderful opportunities for audience byplay.

I think Nathan has a huge hit on his hands. I'll definitely be
adding "EZ Add a Number" to my act. If you'd like to see a video of
his performance and learn more about the effect, please go here:

http://kranzomagic.myshopify.com/products/nathan-kranzos-ez-add-a-number

Until next time,

Steven

Best Online Casinos for Magicians

Magicians seems to have many things in common besides a love of magic. Magicians also seem to share a love for computers, sci-fi, and gambling. Over the years I have played a variety of online casino games. I tend to enjoy slot machines, and there's certainly no shortage of such games available online.

I used to like it when you could use your credit card or PayPal account. It was quick to deposit and quick to withdraw your winnings. Things have changed a bit, and every online casino is a bit different. They do make it easy to get started by offering a variety of bonuses -- everything from matching your bank to enhancing your bank many times over. It pays to shop around for the best deal you can find.

When looking for online casino games, you need to consider several things including the quality of the graphics, customer service, the variety of games offered, and most of all, the available tutorials. Game play differs from casino to casino, and sometimes subtle rule changes can make all the difference between winning and losing.

Personally, I like to play roulette online. I remember the first time I played it in Atlantic City back in the 1990s, I was instantly hooked. Somehow I managed to place and win 18 out of 20 bets in a row. I was only gambling $5-$25 a bet, not even playing individual numbers -- just betting color, odd/even and the occasional cluster of numbers. It was great fun.

Until next time,

Steven

Trade Show Magic and David Regal's "Passport"

Greetings, friends, to the show that never ends! This week I
review David Regals' "Passport" and share my adventures serving
as my own trade show magician.

Late last week I received an invitation via LinkedIn to attend a
local "super" networking event called "Chocolate and Blues".
Apparently the woman behind this event has been holding similar
events in 22 different cities and they tend to attract a
good-sized crowd. Last year's Tulsa event had 950 attendees which
is great for a small town like ours.

In discussing the nature of the audience and the event, it became
clear that this is something I could attend as a vendor -- though
my wallet is rather thin right now. I asked her if she hired
entertainment and offered my services as a magician. She said her
budget didn't allow for paid entertainment but she would be happy
to trade vendor booth space for free entertainment. A deal was
made.

I was given a table in a corner in front of a Christmas tree. I
had a round 10 seater table. A few years ago I invested in a
tri-fold table-top booth display. I spent the weekend laying out
the marketing samples I wanted to showcase, and set that up on
the table and used a rolling table to perform close-up. I
included business cards and displays for my upcoming magic
appearances, too, essentially killing two birds with one stone.

The attendance was not as good as last years -- perhaps a few
hundred throughout the course of the day. I spoke to 50+ people
over 4 hours and handed out and received a lot of business cards.
The attendees were not my target audience, and I may not get any
marketing business from it, but at least I received visibility
and awareness and entertained a lot of people. Practice makes
perfect and some may attend one of my upcoming local appearances.

Back in the day when I ran marketing services for WilTel, I had a
$10 mm annual budget which included many trade shows. We had a
100' x 100' booth space, a theater with lots of seating, and
plenty of kiosks. In our earlier days we hired Tim Conover and
Bill Goldman. Later we added a killer juggling team and even a
ventriloquist. I always wanted to work our own trade shows but I
could not convince the execs to pay me what I wanted.

Yesterday gave me a good idea of what it would be like to be a
trade show magician. I worked at gathering crowds, integrating a
marketing message into my magic, and encouraging people to ask
questions about my services and to share their needs with me. It
felt real comfortable and I enjoyed it immensely. I want more.

I did Triumph, my no-palm card to wallet, card in mouth and
Pressure. Over and over again. Wow. That was easy.

Since I am always looking for new material to create "perfect"
sets for close-up, strolling, and stage, I recently took
advantage of Hocus Pocus' Thanksgiving Day sale and picked up
David Regal's "Passport". Whenever something new comes out that
makes me go "hmmm" I bookmark it. David's effects usually make me do
that. This was a good deal, so I bit.

"Passport" is a no-palm signed card to wallet and while there are
many variations of this on the market, I like the way this one
flows. You ask a spectator to select a card and write the name of
any destination on it. The card is returned and a leather
passport wallet is displayed with rubber bands around it. You
remove the rubber bands and open it to display a passport inside
an inner pocket. You remove the passport and as you page through
the stamps in it, you announce the destination they wrote on the
card. Then you show there is a face down card in the passport.
When it is slid out, it is their signed selected card.

The wallet and gimmicks supplied are well made by Steve Shufton
and the accompanying DVD by David walks you through the set-up
and performance. I think the extras he adds on are much stronger
than the basic handling initially taught. Handling the gimmick
takes a little practice, and some of the moves require faith in
your spectator not questioning or reaching for your props. That
said, I hate palming and this now gives me a very strong signed
card to wallet without palming. I like it and recommend it
highly.

Until next time,

Steven

Sophisticated Sorcery Relaunch and Product Reviews

A quick email to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and to thank
you for your friendship and support over the past year as I have
re-launched my career as a performer.

I have completed the next version of my web site here:

http://www.sophisticatedsorcery.com

My goal was to create a quick loading site that is visually
engaging and tells a simple but compelling story. It is search
engine optimized, includes stills and a video I produced,
testimonials, fan club subscription, a contact form and hopefully
makes my show look a little more substantial and different with
my kids included in the graphics. I feel like I captured most of
my vision. New business cards and posters are being printed by
VistaPrint now.

In December I picked up a handful of shows ranging from Boy
Scouts to Hospice to Nursing Home to private business holidays
parties. Next Monday I am participating in Chocolate and Blues, a
large networking event where they expect 950+ attendees during
the course of the day. I negotiated a free vendor table in
exchange for providing some entertainment as I push both my
marketing consulting services as well as my magic shows.

I've already started to promote myself through all of the
top-rated third-party entertainment and business directories. As
a result, searches for "Tulsa magician" display my info in about
6 different places on page one and two search results.

Next I will begin to develop a marketing plan identifying venues
for a one-man show as well as targets for corporate and high
society. I have begun to develop a proposal package that emulates
the look and feel of the site so all the marketing material
focuses on building brand and awareness.

It's all pretty exciting.

I picked up Optical Ropes from Mark Mason thinking I could teach
it to my son so we might have some fun with me doing the
Professors Nightmare and him doing Optical Ropes. I don't like
the full routine it comes with, but the initial transformation of
3 ropes to 2 ropes to 1 rope as you merely stroke the ropes looks
amazing. I think the trick should stop right there.

I did a strolling gig for the Tulsey Awards which recognizes
local entrepreneurs. Several hundred people in the historic
Cain's Ballroom. Very cool night. Very dim and noisy so I worked
the room with sponge balls and Pressure and card manipulation.
Was very well received. Made lots of good contacts including with
an event planner who wants to offer a cabaret show early next
year and he invited me to the dance!

Have you seen the video for Rizer? You draw a deck of cards on
your arm, the drawing animates and the selected card rises from
the deck. I have no idea how it works. Looks great. A reputation
maker for sure. Hoping ellusionist sends me this one for review
soon.

Picked up the Bill Neff Miracle Rope gimmick. Reminds me of
something Dick Zimmerman did in his lectures. Almost identical
effect except for the construction of the gimmick. I always a
copy of this classic though now that I have read it, I am
uncertain it is worth the work.

I also came across some digital downloads at TrickShop.com which
were all classics at one time. I am digging into some of this
older material as well as some of the updated manuscripts. Liked
Seven Keys to Baldpate (though I never understood the effect's
name) as well as the Paul Fox Miracle Gimmick. Going to put some
time
into these to see if I can really make them work for me.

Still wanting an old illusion for the show. In fact, if you have
any old gear you want to get rid of at a reasonable price or
trade, please send me your list of stuff.

That's it for now. Have a great turkey day.

Best,

Steven

Jay Sankey's "Hardcore"

Greetings, friends. This week I share some news about my
forthcoming debut at the Spotlight Theater as well as review Jay
Sankey's newest DVD, Hardcore. I hope everyone is well and is
preparing for the holiday season. I have a few gigs planned, and
while my magic biz isn't exactly a barn burner yet, I am still
very pleased with the visibility and opportunities that have been
coming my way without any meaningful promotional efforts or
advertising. Best of all, I seem to be attracting the crowd I
wanted to target, corporate and higher society private parties.

Being a marketing guy at my core, I decided to apply a little of
my talents to make my magic web site rise in the organic search
results on Google. After a very short time, I am happy to say I
appear on Google's first page for the search phrase "Tulsa
magician".

I am showing up on the local Google map along with 7 other
magicians. I was invisible a month ago and I've recently risen
from 7th position to 6th position. In addition, I am also popping
up in third-party directories on page one including PartyPop.com,
Decidio.com, GigMasters.com and MyPartyPlanner.com.

Now all I need is a decent web site! The cobbler's kids always
have the worst shoes!

If you want help rising in the search engines, drop me an email.
It's not really magic.

It was confirmed last Friday that I am officially joining the
cast of the "Olio" at the Spotlight Theater. I will start in
December but may play a date during November if a spot opens up.

I have already lined up my first show. I will be opening with
Harry Anderson's Three Card Prince, then doing my Dollar Bill in
Balloon Doggie and closing with the Straitjacket Escape --
somewhere between 12-15 minutes. I'm still going to use the
character of "Steve, the Sleeve" and will use my son as an
assistant, bringing things on and off stage with "an attitude" as
"The Kid".

Since I will be performing on a real stage I need to obey fire
codes and have come up with an alternate handling to my Bill in
Balloon Doggie. I typically burn the spectator's dollar and we
roast marshmallows over it as it burns. It's a very funny moment,
but it won't work in the new venue. So I found a hand-held
shredder. I will now shred the bill into their hands under the
auspices of checking to see if the bill is counterfeit or not.
This, too, should be very funny. I need to add some blinking
lights to the shredder to make it look more like a contraption.

This week I want to highlight Jay Sankey's new DVD "Hardcore". It
is a collection of 11 effects that will work well for either the
newbie or more experienced performer. These are workers. Like a
good Beatle album, there are no bad tricks on this DVD -- no
fillers.

My favorite effects are "Climber" where a drop of coke visually
rises up a straw, "Wrapture" where a borrowed quarter is softened
and wrapped around a borrowed penny, and "Babylon Band" where the
name of a selected card appears out of a jumble of letters
written on a wide rubber band. Each of these is strong, visual
and exceptionally easy to perform. You will find yourself
practicing these within minutes of watching their explanations,
especially "Climber" with a gimmick that is just plain fun to
play with.

Other effects worthy of mention include "The Main Attraction"
which is a signed torn and restored card that uses no dupes or
special inks or even a ton of difficult sleight of hand. It's
bold and fresh and would make a great new addition to your
close-up show.

Jay has packaged gimmicks and materials with this new DVD, making
this an even greater bargain at only $35.00.

To see previews and get your copy, go to:

http://www.sankeymagic.com

Until next time,

Steven

Wayne Houchin Lecture

Greetings magic buds. Attended a great lecture in Tulsa last
Friday night. Wayne Houchin performed a number of his most
popular routines and how he performs them for real audiences. He
is a very nice guy. Young, but very talented, and extremely
creative. He puts a lot of thought into the development of his
routines and the psychology behind the words he uses and the
actions he takes. He is quite busy lecturing around the world
through next year and apparently recently relocated from
California to Hawaii.

The lecture included performances and explanations for Sinful,
Thread, a brief talk about success in magic, and finally the East
Indian Needle Trick with a twist. He displayed a cherry with 40
needles in it. He had a spectator withdraw them, place them in
shot glass and he drank them down with some water. Audience was
very surprised when he pulled them out threaded. Reminded me a
bit of Teller's Needles in Apple routine.

Anyway, one of the card effects he did fooled me badly so I
bought it it. The effect is called Influence and it uses a Monte
Cristo deck -- something I have never seen before. Came up with a
bunch of ideas for the deck and now just trying to figure out
where to go with it.

Saw the demo for David Regal's new Red Streamlined Convertible
which is an assembly of four red backed Kings and blue backed
indifferent cards. For those who know my effect, Card Marx, you
know I like effects where cards change color at the end. This is
different. A MacDonald's Aces like effect but the four cards that
assemble have red backs. Looks very good and there are no gaffs.
Looks like a winner. You can learn more at DavidRegal.com --
apparently Wayne Houchin is helping David with the video.

Well, it's time to trade magic. Look through your closets and let
me know if you want to trade anything from my list:

- 20th Century Bra
- Balloon Detective
- Branded
- CAPtivated
- Card Marx
- Cobra Deck
- Collapsible Beer Can
- Cruch
- Emergency Stop
- Flash Burst
- Gilligan's Prediction
- Head off Shoulders Illusion
- Magic Flask
- The Modifier Wallet
- No Gravity Cards
- Sand Frame
- Sudden Deck
- Super Sharpie
- Tagged
- Sprtizer
- Traveling Knot
- Vernet Multiplying Billiard Balls w/Climax Production
- Walk Around Silk to Egg
- Window
- Wonder Dog

More reviews coming soon.

All my best,

Steven

Mental Frisbee, Ghost Images, No Sleight Card to Wallet

Hope all is well on your side of the screen. Since my last
newsletter, I have been feverishly working on researching new
routines and material as well as developing an aggressive local
marketing budget for my target audiences.

I have a ton of new routines in development, many of which will
give me really good closers and some lengthier routines designed to
fill time. I want to have more spontaneous comedy and require
less in the way of props so I can simply walk on and walk off.
It's more elegant that way.

New items received include:

Nathan Kranzo's Mental Frisbee: This comes with five colored
collapsible Frisbees and a booklet with the routine and handling.
The general effect is you throw out the five Frisbees into the
audience and bring the spectators on stage. Then you do a humorous
reading for each spectator, explaining how the color they caught
says something about their character. Finally, you bring up a
sixth spectator and they read your mind and pick a color you are
thinking of. There is a ton of good ideas, funny moments and
great magic in this booklet. I love the way Nathan's mind works.
I am anxious to customize this to my needs and try it in
September at my next performance.

Andrew Mayne's Ghost Images: Cell phone magic effects are so good
because you can always perform them -- everyone has a cell phone.
The fact that you do the magic trick using their phone totally
removes any thoughts of secret preparation or trickery. It just
looks like magic. What Andrew has done here is to bring back the
old spiritualist's miracle of producing spirit photographs and
videos using a cell phone. You can create images of playing
cards, words, footprints, hand prints, ghoulish faces, and even a
shadow of a man walking across their screen. It looks bizarre and
the method is very simple. It will require some minor prep work
and some practice to get the angles and effect right, but it
kills.

No Sleight Card to Wallet: This is from Wayne Dobson and comes
with a finely crafted leather Z-Wallet that looks like a small
billfold and works like a Himber wallet. I found the design
fascinating and it looks great and totally natural. The
instructions, however, consisted of one sheet of text with no
diagrams or photos and frankly I had some questions that needed
to be answered. I later found a Z-Wallet book. Some dealers sell
this with the wallet and some without. I picked it up but this 12
pager had some pretty mundane routines -- including one that half
resembled the routine that came with the wallet -- also no photos
in this booklet. Shouldn't be called a book and shouldn't be sold
separately. It should come with the Z-Wallet and the No Sleight
Card to Wallet. While I love the wallet and found the included
routine for card to wallet to be easy to do, I was just annoyed
with the packaging. I recommend you buy the wallet with the
booklet. You can get it for around $20. The wallet is worth much
more in my opinion. Very clever and classy gimmick.

Brass Bill Tube: This will make the third one I owned. The first
was sold off on eBay years ago. The second actually broke -- the
brass outer tube cracked when a spectator tried pulling the lid
off prematurely -- the lock was still on. Somehow they cracked
the brass. Very strange and very embarrassing as they stood there
with the outer tube in one hand and the slide in the other. So I
ordered another one I found online for $15 at Madhatter Magic and
it is gorgeous. I don't know who makes it. It is about 1 1/2
times larger. The only problem is it did not come with a little
padlock so I had to go through my magic drawers looking for an
extra lock. No gimmicked hanky was included either but for the
money it was worth it.

I recently purchased a large Shrinking Head disc with stand on
eBay and am anxious to see how I might add this to my stand-up
act. I first saw this performed at an OK City magic convention
many years ago by Brad Henderson and was quite surprised by the
positive audience reaction to this simple optical illusion. It
was quite funny and a good way to open and pull an audience into
your crazy world.

You know they say one man's junk is another man's treasure, so
please look through your collection of things you don't use
anymore and send me a list to look over. I might take something
off your hands or have something to trade.

I am especially looking for the following:

- Eric Buss' Phoney Magnet (magnet catches cell phone)
- A Gag Rags (dirty hand prints appear on rag)
- Frame Fantastique (lucite frame allows silver dollars to appear)

One more thing: this metal bookmark makes for a cheap, killer
handcuff shim:

http://www.cardsandcraft.co.uk/jewellery/1021-gold-shepherds-hook-metal-bookmarks.html

Until next time,


Steven