We've been discussing how we might present routines from 'The Stars of Magic', but due to a coincidental clash of names, we've shifted camp to here.

You can find the old thread, and our discussions concerning 'Triumph' here:

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......4&19

(Please feel free to post your 'Triumph' ideas there.)

Now, any suggestions for what routine to look at next?

For this coming month (May) I shall be looking at Dai Vernon's 'Cutting the Aces'.

You are all welcome to join me.

Regards,

Caleb Strange.

The first idea that comes to mind is the using Four Horsemen segment from the book of Revelations.
See an overview here:
http://www.apocalipsis.org/fourhorsemen.htm

The four kings could be used.
When the fourth seal is opened it says,
"I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.
"

With some modification, I was thinking that instead of the number card (used to count down) appearing that the fourth card cut to could be the Ace of Spades (Death) and then the next king card (Hades) is turned over.

Could also have the last king(Death)turned first followed by the AS (Hades).

Will try to come up with other ideas if time permits.

The four aces for the four elements....
do know much about "cutting the aces", does the spectator is also involve I mean he to cuts to an ace? if so we can explain that the fifth element is magic or psyche...

Earth, air, fire and water was something I pondered too.
I just couldn't put patter to it.

You said "do know much about cutting the aces". Did you mean you don't know much.

Spec. don't cut.
There are five cards revealed.
Basic overview of the original revelations:
First ace cut to face down.
2nd ace cut to face down.
3rd ace cut to face up.
Card is not and ace but is used to count down to the 4th ace.

I hope to have something posted in the next week or two - busy with other stuff and I like the stories that I want to weave into this effect too much to dare rush them.

I'll dip into 'Revelations' again, Jaz, as I know (from a variety of personal experiences), of the power of a well-modulated voice reciting a verse or two of King James .

Regards,

Caleb Strange.

'Spellbound' for the rest of the month, those of you playing this at home .

Very interesting thead, and I'm soprry I haven't come across it sooner.

If I may, I would suggest that "Cutting the Aces" is a difficult routine to rewrite, since the Vernon script is probably the most significant contribution to the routine. All else is the odd one-handed flying cut that tends to look confusing in all but the best hands, and the sequence for losing the aces, which is not accurately reported in Stars. The story Vernon concocted, however, brings all these odd bits together, and is one of my favorite examples of a story presentation.

Spellbound, on the other hand, invites elaboration and experimentation, and is a problem near and dear to this coinman's heart. I am aware of the following approaches being used successfully:

1. The coins change as a test of the lighting, a preliminary check to verify that the audience will be able to see the magic when it does occur. In the process of so checking, the coins change several times.

2. The coins change as the performer remembers, in turn, a girlfriend in England, one from America, and finallyone from China.

3. The coin does not change, but in an effort to demonstrate ultimate fairness, the performer turns the coin inside out, showing no trickery inside.

4. The coin does not change, but rather, changes places, with coins in different parts of the world. We are seeing only half of a trasnposition.

5. These more subtle changes are probably best for Bizarre magic: Changes of dates to a time travel theme, or my favorite, along the line of one of Caleb's stories, change of the portrait on a dollar, indicating that one has changed history.

6. Perhaps the most bizarre "single coin changing" effect, if done with conviction, is Paul Harris'"chocolate coin". Imagine asking a person how it is that he knows the coin from his pocket is not in reality, a bit of an illusion. Here, you peel back the surface and show the chocolate insides, then press back the foil and the illusion resumes.

More later, if I can finish a script that you all might find interesting.

Curtis,

The idea of an INSIDE-OUT coin is really nice - it suggests a possible flip in the observer's position. Imagine you're looking at a box from the outside: suddenly the box turns inside out, and you're looking at the box's inside surfaces. Eventually you notice that what you took to be the outside, i.e. the space where you still sit, is now a shadowy limbo zone, filled with soft brown light. And when you peep 'into' the box, you now see the rest of the universe crammed in there. It's not just the box that has turned inside-out.

I agree. Parallel history IS a great way to go with this. But taking things in the other direction, here’s the basis of a cheeky ‘Spellbound’ routine that would get the laughs, at least here in the UK .


'He’ll be back...'

(You’re spinning coins and tales in a bar. You begin:)

An old school-friend of mine is a journalist; and for the past five years or so he’s been working as a gopher for a well-known broadsheet correspondent over in Washington, D.C.. He’s met a lot of wackos and crazies in his line of work, as you can imagine, but none so disturbing as Sarah.

I must point out, before we go any further, that (spoken very quickly) the following story is a fictional story, told for entertainment purposes only, and any correspondence with persons alive, dead, or C.G.I. is purely coincidental.

Anyway, he rang me about three months ago, and this is what he said:

‘It’d been a slow day for news – the kind of day you led with a proposed constitutional amendment and closed with a sighting of Bigfoot in a suit. I was desperate for copy, and so, when they told me she was there, again, at the front desk, spouting off about the end of the world, I said show her in.

‘Sarah... Connell, I think she said her name was. And in not so pretty words she told me of her most recent B-Movie encounter: of a terrifying thing in metal, propelled from the future, back to this present time.

‘It was a warning, she called it. Hard edged and gleaming. A call to arms. A nightmare token of a tomorrow beyond all our imaginings.

‘“Yeah, yeah – whatever,” I said. (You start rolling a borrowed half-dollar in a bored manner.) I’d heard it all before. “A killer robot from the future. Right!”
‘“Oh no.” she said. It was much worse than that.
‘“D’you want to see?”

(You take the coin in your fingertips, and transform it, only slightly, into another half-dollar – one with a different face. This new face is taut and tanned, and familiar to you – oh! those Teutonic cheekbones, and that rictus grin. More to the point, round the edge of the coin runs the grim legend ‘President Scharzenegger’.)

‘“Oh my Gosh!” I said. “But how?”
‘“2012,” she said, pointing to the date. “There’s still time...”’

Regards,

Caleb Strange.

I'm not much of a storyteller but I'm looking at the possibility of a story about the River Styx.

Link:
http://www.theriverstyx.net/river.html

I don't think Charon offers a return trip in exchange for a silver coin.

How about a gold coin JT?

TOTH to Caleb, and I'll bet that there's a PAC somewhere that already has a few of these minted. Or maybe a movie promotion comapny.

I must admit I did something similar with a three dollar bill I used to have featuring Monica Lewelinski.

Sometime, remind me to tell you about my "Wendy" mouse bit with my mouse "Monica Le Wiskers".

Curtis wrote:

'I must admit I did something similar with a three dollar bill I used to have featuring Monica Lewelinski.'

LOL. Sounds great!

Then of course, there's that shiny Kennedy half-dollar, you have, only it has President Bobby's face on it, instead Jack.

Or President Ted...

(Hard thing, as you alluded to, is finding the anachronistic prop.)

Jaz, you mentioned Charon and his fare and I got this weird image: to fool him, one day a relative tattoos an image of an open eye onto the dearly departed's eyelids. And as Charon removes the coins, prior to crossing the river, he notices these 'open' eyes, and grumbles, 'Oh, they've made another mistake', and takes the dead one back to the land of the living.


Regards,

Caleb Strange.

Spellbound, and passing on the story.

‘Once upon a time, there was a man who had a mirror, and in that mirror were reflected all the bright patterns of the world.’
(LH displays small, shiny mirror.)
‘Yet because this man was careless, he allowed his mirror to tarnish.’
(RH passes over LH and mirror in LH becomes rusted over.)
‘And, unfortunately, because he did not notice his mirror rusting over, he thought that his world had become now drab and confused and dull. He had forgotten, you see, just how sharp and bright his mirror once had been.’
(RH passes over LH and mirror in LH becomes shiny again. Then the mirror is passed openly to the RH.)
‘Now, when I heard of this man, I went looking for him.’
(RH holds mirror up at angle, so you can see your audience in it, and they you.)
‘But I could not find him. His was not the only mirror in a state of disrepair.’
(LH passes over shiny mirror in RH and it becomes rusted over.)
‘One day I will polish my mirror - I must - and perhaps then I will find him.’
(RH passes rusty mirror to LH where it becomes shiny.)
‘But till then, I keep passing on this story, in the hope that at least one of us will understand.’
(RH takes mirror from LH, whereupon it vanishes, leaving both hands empty.)

Regards,

Caleb Strange.

Good work guys, this is a cool concept.

Caleb, you might want to talk to Jonathan about that mirror routine. (if you haven't already).

I just read the Shneider post on the coins thread:
http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......start=30
and his mention of a warlock got me thinking...

A magician is pondering a choice. There are two options and both have their good points and bad points. The magician happens to have a coin in has hands. As they discuss each factor in the decision, the coin changes to silver (first option) or copper (second option) all the while not looking at the coin.

A flash of insight later, thre magician makes up his mind and seeks a third option. The coin is seen to be something else entirely as he puts it away.

I like this. As we enter the scene, the magician sits at his desk and his ruminations are already in progress. He speaks of a matter involving money, and the ellusive nature of success. He recalls a simpler time, when he had less, and worried less, and the silver coin becomes a copper penny. He now addresses the audience directly, and presents the question to them. Again, the coin changes in accordance with the monologue. Finally, the silver coin becomes a silver pen. The magician signs his name on a document, puts the pen in it holder, and exits.

One funny thing about love is we never get satisfied...
sometimes we don't appreciate to whom we are with (show the copper coin) ...
and we kept on looking for someone much better (now its a sliver coin)
but after getting that someone better we then realize the value of the former (turn to copper again) but we can't bring back time (turned into silver) thus in the end we lost them booth...

or it can be about life, never getting satisfied in seeking material wealth until in the end he lost everthing he has...

I posted this on another thread, though it really belongs here. Pardon the re-use.

There's an ancient secret to hiding valuables made of gold. Cover with a thick layer of lead, then a very thin layer of gold. That way when thieves come, they see the gold, but test it to see if it's fake, and so find the lead, and leave it alone. Which is okay as long as they don't cut too deep and find gold underneath again. I suppose it's like an onion and every layer you peel shows lead or gold. Funny thing is if you go all the way down you find the good stuff, chocolate.

Well, Caleb, it's June. What's on the desk for this month?

Hi everyone.

Sorry about the interruption. I've been away on holiday. And I'm pleased to say that my batteries are recharged enough for me to suggest that we study Slydini's 'Flight of the Paper Balls' the next few weeks.

(Cue the sound of a cat being placed amongst pigeons.)

That trick would take on an entirely different meaning if you gave the volunteer a pen and asked them to wish for toys and stuff.