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gdw
Inner circle
4427 Posts
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Posted: Mar 1, 2012 1:10pm
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the Cups and Balls. I've always loved the effect, but am almost ALWAYS bored by most routines I see.
Not that they are "bad," just that, I don't know, the majority just feel like more of the same.
Ironically, I often feel like there are "must haves" in a C&B routine, and these are more or less the usual phases, but in the end, these are often the routines that I just become uninterested in.
There are some very unique routines out there, and I would love to see more of them. There are a good number of routines out there that HAVE grabbed me, and become MY favourites.
So, what routines have grabbed you? What routines have made you LOVE the Cups and Balls?
Posted: Mar 1, 2012 1:43pm
Just to get things started, here are some of the routines in my lists.
Tommy Wonder's Two Cup Routine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ6qT8JvaMY
Simply one of the best. The routining, psychology, the surprises, just fantastic. And, even though there are some more "traditional" phases/moments, everything before the finale(s) entertained me. I've never liked the idea that everything before the final loads is just to get to the end.
Shawn Farquhar's Routine
There is some seriously clever thinking in here. Not just magically, but logistically. Also, I'm pretty impressed that he's managed to keep video of it off the internet. There was one up for a while, but, as many have celebrities have "embarrassingly" learnt with their own "videos," once somethings on the net, it's pretty much on there forever.
David Williamson's Two Cup Routine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJiTvLAraJc
The first of the few the more "classic" routines on my list, although this one may be much more because of Williamson himself, rather than his routine.
Penn And Teller's "expose" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8osRaFTtgHo
Just brilliant entertainment, and yes, magic.
Jason Latimer's transparent cups routine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvIxgO6hVAQ
Largely for the innovation. As I've said elsewhere, I'd love to see where others move from here.
David Regal's Cups and Balls and Cups and Balls http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbnwgwnLe38
Another one largely for the ending/idea.
Paul Gertner's Cups and Steel Balls http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0cGxqYZp6M
Another of the few more traditional routines, in the initial structure/sequences of his routine, but the use of Steel balls added more magic to it, beyond just being clever, and the finale's of this routine stuck with me longer than almost any magic memory I have, especially the ball that's too big for the cups.
Last, but not least, for posterity, THE classic:
Dai Vernon's classic routine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De2tyFK8WA0
I can watch this one for the lesson(s) that it is. That being said, it is very indicative of the type of routine I just can't sit through. I still enjoy sitting and watching videos of Vernon do this routine, as well as watching a REAL pro do the routine, for almost purely academic purposes. A true classic. I am also able to just sit back and "relax" to this routine if you will, just not to any "derivatives," if you will.
So, there's my list, or at least the few I can name off the top of my head, and probably with a few more "traditional" routines than I would like.
To narrow it down, I'd probably say Tommy Wonder's is simply the best for me.
Shawn Farquhar's is great, David Williamson is entertaining, Penn and Teller are brilliant, Jason Latimer's is innovative, David Regal's ending, and method are a hoot, Paul Gertner's added just enough of something extra to keep me watching, and Dai Vernon simply IS he Classic.
March 22, 2011, our beautiful baby girl, Evelyn, was born.
http://twitter.com/MagicByWest
Man has evolved, zenu is extinct.
Magic is like a Grilled Cheese Sandwich.
I won't forget you Robert.
Posted: Mar 1, 2012 2:14pm
Honourable mention goes to Mark Jenest's routine. Not Jiggernaut, not that it's bad, but there was a routine I saw him do, I believe it was on Grand Illusions, either hat, or one of the TLC magic documentary specials, which used a mug, a shot glass, and the jigger.
Can't find a video of it at the moment though.
And just for fun, Penn and Teller's Cups and Balls, in SUPER slow mo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQrxxbcroEw
March 22, 2011, our beautiful baby girl, Evelyn, was born.
It's a brave new world, get with it, or get out of the way.
Man has evolved, "god" is extinct.
I won't forget you Robert.
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tm613
Regular user
Phila, PA
115 Posts
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Posted: Mar 1, 2012 2:58pm
Here are some I enjoy watching over and over again on Youtube
Tommy Wonder
Kent Gunn - Fun Shop Cups and Balls
David Regal
Rub a Dub Dub
John Mendoza
Al Schneider - LA Street Cups - the three ball assembly phase is really nice - the final load not so much although it is of intetrst for anyone who does not want to go to the pockets at the end
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ASCII
New user
48 Posts
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Posted: Mar 1, 2012 4:24pm
Rafael Benatar has a great no wand routine that I think is quite underrated
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JESmagic
New user
Cleveland, Ohio
84 Posts
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Posted: Mar 1, 2012 6:56pm
I posted one of my favorite routines in another thread...but I'll copy and paste it again here. It's Ricky Jay's "History Lesson". While many of the sequences are traditional, it is performed in an original and nontraditional way. http://www.youtube.com/embed/Hgm4wZCACYg
Jonathan Schweid, M.D.
President, JESmagic
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Donal Chayce
Inner circle
The City of Angels
1771 Posts
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Posted: Mar 1, 2012 8:47pm
In no particular order:
Johnny Ace Palmer
Suzanne
David Regal
Ricky Jay
Tommy Wonder
The MacGician ®
***********
The fates lead him who will...him who won't, they drag.
-Seneca
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Bill Palmer
Eternal Order
Only Jonathan Townsend has more than
23786 Posts
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Posted: Mar 2, 2012 2:11am
Quote:
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On 2012-03-01 13:10, gdw wrote:
There are some very unique routines out there,
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There are no degrees of being unique. Either a routine is unique or it isn't. Unique is often confused with unusual or innovative; however, unique means "one of a kind."
This said, I would consider Shawn Farquhar's routine unique.
Vernon's routine, on the other hand, is actually derivative. It's very similar to Malini's routine, according to friends of mine who actually perform the Malini routine. The wand spin vanish is not in the Malini routine.
Jason Latimer's routine is doubly unique. If you have actually seen him perform this over the past 8 years, you will realize that he seldom performs it the same way twice. It's always in a stage of development.
The version he did on the Ferguson show is the one that was made for him by Joe Porper. It eliminates a lot of odd, quirky work.
Bob Read's "Penultimate Cups and Balls," while basically another version of the Vernon routine is unique because of its presentation and the equipment used. It also demonstrates Bob's mastery of the cups and balls concepts and combines them with Bob's unique showmanship and personality.
Rafael Benatar's "Transit Cups and Balls" is another version of the Vernon routine, but it adds the elements of the more modern scripting. This, coupled with some interesting moves, make it much more original than one might think. It's one of my favorite routines.
I like the version Pete Biro did on a fairly recent television appearance.
And Gazzo's routine, which is basically another Vernon routine, with a very high impact ending, is much more fun to watch live than on video. Gazzo kills with it live.
When I watch someone do the cups and balls, I want to see a personalized approach to this classic, not some sterile, cut and dried, canned version.
I also like the Gertner routine, the Williamson routine and the Wonder routine.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC
My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups."
www.cupsandballsmuseum.com
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cfrye
Special user
Portland, Oregon, USA
941 Posts
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Posted: Mar 2, 2012 3:05am
I agree with Bill that Gazzo's routine is amazing live. I saw him do it in Boston in the late 1980s and rediscovered it years later, culminating in my attending his Seattle workshop. He has worked, reworked, and examined his routine through literally thousands of performances on whatever stage he could find. It shows in his performance and the passion with which he shares it.
Curt
Curt Frye
curt@curtisfrye.com
http://www.techsoc.com/puzzlesets.htm
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pepka
Inner circle
Uh, I'm the one on the right.
3797 Posts
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Posted: Mar 2, 2012 3:10am
In no particular order...
Tommy Wonder
Ricky Jay
Paul Gertner
One guy who's name is escaping me. He did a 3 cup routine to classical music. His final load sequence and vanish of the 3 balls is BEAUTIFUL!
And of course....
Vernon
www.forentertainmentonly.com
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The Burnaby Kid
Inner circle
GwangJu, South Korea
2720 Posts
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Posted: Mar 2, 2012 4:20am
I managed to narrow my favourites down to about, oh, 28?
http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewtopic.php?topic=350110&forum=115
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Vincero
Veteran user
New Zealand
373 Posts
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Posted: Mar 2, 2012 4:54am
I don't perform the Cups and Balls, but still: Tommy Wonder's routine was the first I ever fell in love with. The first time I watched it I couldn't believe it... An absoulute joy to watch and by far my favourite rendition of this classic. In Tommy's version the climaxes just keep building (that stunt with the sock still gets me!). Not only that, but he gets the audience thoroughly involved too. It's more than the stucture of his version of this effect that does it for me though... It's the way he performs it. In my opinion, the balance he strikes is perfect.
Zac
"Which way I fly is Hell; myself am Hell; And in the lowest deep a lower deep
Still threat'ning to devour me opens wide, To which the Hell I suffer seems a Heav'n" -John Milton, (Paradise Lost)
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gdw
Inner circle
4427 Posts
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Posted: Mar 2, 2012 7:50am
Quote:
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On 2012-03-02 02:11, Bill Palmer wrote:
Quote:
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On 2012-03-01 13:10, gdw wrote:
There are some very unique routines out there,
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There are no degrees of being unique. Either a routine is unique or it isn't. Unique is often confused with unusual or innovative; however, unique means "one of a kind."
....
Jason Latimer's routine is doubly unique.
...
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He he.
March 22, 2011, our beautiful baby girl, Evelyn, was born.
It's a brave new world, get with it, or get out of the way.
Man has evolved, "god" is extinct.
I won't forget you Robert.
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kentfgunn
Inner circle
Tampa FL
1423 Posts
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Posted: Mar 3, 2012 10:40pm
Don't know if I've related this story here, before . . . My favorite performer of the cups and balls is Bob White. I talked him into lecturing for a small convention on the West Coast; The Golden Gate Gathering.
Bob's a working pro from Texas, tall and genteel. A classy guy who had a stroke about sixteen months ago. It left him and his life in a shambles. He’s made a lot of progress since then though.
Throughout the convention he was charming and entertained the throngs that sprung up around him.
Bob’s lecture was . . . heavenly. He did a fantastic job. Every attendee who spoke of it, to me, was blown away. He continued to fool people as he tried to explain one of his false counts. He was explaining them just fine. The moves were simply too deceptive in his hands.
I think he wanted to include the Cups in his lecture. I believe with the number of sequences in the routine he thought he could no longer do the effect justice. He left it out of the lecture.
End of the last night of the convention I busted out my table to do my version of the cups for him. Just a few of us were outside; Jared Kopf, Bob, Mike Feldman and me. I did my routine and then . . .
He got Jared to bring out his P&L cups and explained to us how he’d given them to Jared.
There was something in the San Francisco air that night though, I swear it. In the middle of his discussion of the cups he borrowed a coat from Mike Feldman and . . .
He busted out the finest performance of that trick I’ve even been allowed to see. Nary a slip, not an awkward moment. That night Bob White and sleight-of-hand magic kicked heart disease square in the ass!
Most magical moment of my life.
Kent
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afinemesh
Inner circle
In Sebastopol, Ca. on a fence built with
1514 Posts
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Posted: Mar 3, 2012 11:25pm
Ricky Jay's "history lesson" is brilliant!
"I've always been mental, I'm sure of it" Boris Pocus 
"Someday we'll look back on this and it will all seem funny". . .Bruce Springsteen
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Bill Palmer
Eternal Order
Only Jonathan Townsend has more than
23786 Posts
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Posted: Mar 4, 2012 12:56am
Quote:
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On 2012-03-02 07:50, gdw wrote:
Quote:
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On 2012-03-02 02:11, Bill Palmer wrote:
Quote:
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On 2012-03-01 13:10, gdw wrote:
There are some very unique routines out there,
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There are no degrees of being unique. Either a routine is unique or it isn't. Unique is often confused with unusual or innovative; however, unique means "one of a kind."
....
Jason Latimer's routine is doubly unique.
...
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He he.
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I said precisely what I meant. It's unique in two different ways. Now it's up to you to learn how this can be. If you think I'm picking nits, remember this --
"The difference between the right word and the almost right word, and it is a big one, is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug." -- Mark Twain.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC
My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups."
www.cupsandballsmuseum.com
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gdw
Inner circle
4427 Posts
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Posted: Mar 4, 2012 11:14am
Quote:
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On 2012-03-04 00:56, Bill Palmer wrote:
Quote:
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On 2012-03-02 07:50, gdw wrote:
Quote:
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On 2012-03-02 02:11, Bill Palmer wrote:
Quote:
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On 2012-03-01 13:10, gdw wrote:
There are some very unique routines out there,
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There are no degrees of being unique. Either a routine is unique or it isn't. Unique is often confused with unusual or innovative; however, unique means "one of a kind."
....
Jason Latimer's routine is doubly unique.
...
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He he.
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I said precisely what I meant. It's unique in two different ways. Now it's up to you to learn how this can be. If you think I'm picking nits, remember this --
"The difference between the right word and the almost right word, and it is a big one, is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug." -- Mark Twain.
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I understood. It just made me chuckle.
March 22, 2011, our beautiful baby girl, Evelyn, was born.
It's a brave new world, get with it, or get out of the way.
Man has evolved, "god" is extinct.
I won't forget you Robert.
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lint
Special user
Concord, CA
948 Posts
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Posted: Mar 5, 2012 5:08pm
Quote:
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On 2012-03-02 02:11, Bill Palmer wrote:
Vernon's routine, on the other hand, is actually derivative. It's very similar to Malini's routine, according to friends of mine who actually perform the Malini routine. The wand spin vanish is not in the Malini routine.
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Bill, I was under the impression that Malini's routine was never in print? Correct me if I am wrong. I have been out of the bibliography game for a while.
todd
"There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip..." -English Proverb
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magicofrovin
New user
11 Posts
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Posted: Mar 5, 2012 5:38pm
Fred kaps Cups and balls routine is also amazing!
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fortasse
Inner circle
1139 Posts
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Posted: Mar 5, 2012 11:38pm
Todd :
Bill will weigh in, I'm sure, but I don't think he said that Malini's routine was ever in print, only that friends of his perform it. I guess there must be an oral tradition that has kept Malini's routine alive because I've never seen a written description of it.
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motown
Inner circle
Atlanta by way of Detroit
4760 Posts
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Posted: Mar 6, 2012 12:24am
Helge Thun's routine is very funny and a bit naughty at that.
"If you ever write anything about me after I'm gone, I will come back and haunt you."
– Karl Germain
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gdw
Inner circle
4427 Posts
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Posted: Mar 6, 2012 9:03am
Quote:
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On 2012-03-06 00:24, motown wrote:
Helge Thun's routine is very funny and a bit naughty at that.
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You've got my attention. Any where we can see it?
March 22, 2011, our beautiful baby girl, Evelyn, was born.
It's a brave new world, get with it, or get out of the way.
Man has evolved, "god" is extinct.
I won't forget you Robert.
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motown
Inner circle
Atlanta by way of Detroit
4760 Posts
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Posted: Mar 6, 2012 10:46am
Here you go:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qky7fqRaLhY
"If you ever write anything about me after I'm gone, I will come back and haunt you."
– Karl Germain
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gdw
Inner circle
4427 Posts
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Posted: Mar 6, 2012 11:07am
Ah yes, I remember that one now. Laughed my ass off first time I saw it.
March 22, 2011, our beautiful baby girl, Evelyn, was born.
It's a brave new world, get with it, or get out of the way.
Man has evolved, "god" is extinct.
I won't forget you Robert.
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Bill Palmer
Eternal Order
Only Jonathan Townsend has more than
23786 Posts
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Posted: Mar 7, 2012 4:49pm
Quote:
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On 2012-03-05 17:08, lint wrote:
Quote:
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On 2012-03-02 02:11, Bill Palmer wrote:
Vernon's routine, on the other hand, is actually derivative. It's very similar to Malini's routine, according to friends of mine who actually perform the Malini routine. The wand spin vanish is not in the Malini routine.
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Bill, I was under the impression that Malini's routine was never in print? Correct me if I am wrong. I have been out of the bibliography game for a while.
todd
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I don't know where it may be in print, if at all; however, I know a couple of guys who do it. They may have learned it from Vernon or from Malini's son.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC
My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups."
www.cupsandballsmuseum.com
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bishthemagish
Inner circle
5577 Posts
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Posted: Apr 29, 2012 12:25pm
To watch - I like the Vernon routine and the Jim Ryan routine.
To do ----- http://www.mrhypnotist.org/video/glennbishopcastle.wmv
cheers!
Just a few thoughts and opinion.
Glenn Bishop - Bish The Magish!
Magician, Card Sharp and Master Hypnotist.
http://glennbishopmagicandcards.blogspot.com
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Pete Biro
V.I.P.
17743 Posts
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Posted: Apr 29, 2012 1:23pm
can't believe nobody has mentioned Johnny Paul's great routine.
STAY TOONED... @ www.petebiro.com
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kentfgunn
Inner circle
Tampa FL
1423 Posts
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Posted: Apr 29, 2012 1:24pm
As a complete opposite in both tenor, construction and tone to Glenn's fine routine, I present:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHZWDptZuY4&feature=player_embedded
NOTE --- Not safe for work. No one under eighteen should watch this - - - No one under 80 should watch it either.
Lots of swearing. Lots.
I attributed the wand to the wrong Fenton! It's Bruce!
KG
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Tom Fenton
.jpg)
Inner circle
Leeds, UK (but I'm Scottish)
1259 Posts
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Posted: Apr 29, 2012 3:28pm
I wish I had made that wand Kent.
Lovely looking work from what I can see of it.
"But there isn't a door"
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bishthemagish
Inner circle
5577 Posts
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Posted: Apr 29, 2012 10:04pm
Here is another great performer doing the cups and balls at the magic castle - Tom Frank.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=BJvF93zuVqQ
I think Tom Frank is great and I love watching him perform.
Just a few thoughts and opinion.
Glenn Bishop - Bish The Magish!
Magician, Card Sharp and Master Hypnotist.
http://glennbishopmagicandcards.blogspot.com
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AdamChance
Loyal user
299 Posts
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Posted: May 3, 2012 3:07pm
Fun shop cups and balls
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEYmGnK4K9g
this is definitely my favourite version.
the first time I watched it, I was super blown away. after watching it a bunch of times, I think I figured most of it out... but eventually I want to buy a nice set of cups and balls and learn this routine.
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ottphd
Regular user
182 Posts
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Posted: May 3, 2012 4:45pm
I must agree with Adam ( The Fun Shop ). By Kent Gunn!
http/www.jimsmagicshop.com
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