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Felix Cardician Regular user 152 Posts |
Over the past years, especially now that the internet has become common, magic has gone through many changes. One of the most important is the way how magic is learned today. This post is directed especially to you, new magicians.
I'll go straight to the point...one of the unpleasant things that internet has brought with it is what I like to call cheap magicians. Define cheap magician? Ok. A cheap magician is a fairly new hobbyist, who has learned most of his/her information about magic through the net. He very rarely or never buys books or video material about magic - because he likes to find another way, downloading ripped files and searching Google if anyone would have exposed a magic secret. Cheap magicians hang on magic forums hour upon hour to find if someone, even accidentally, exposed a secret. They are like vultures (lol), eating the garbage someone left behind. Cheap magicians never perform to public. Yes, they love showing tricks to their friends, but they never do gigs or large public shows. Cheap magicians are very easy to recognize when they go to a magic shop (which is rarely)...they look around quite a long time, books, DVDs etc., and there's a reason for this: they are not going to buy the books, they are memorizing the names and authors of the books so that they can later go to the net and search if that certain book was available online! What does a cheap magician buy from a magic shop then? The ONLY thing he cant find on the net - props and accessories like decks of cards, maybe a thumb tip. Cheap magicians never buy books, videos or other material that you can learn something from. There are an awful lot of hobbyist magicians who perfectly match the description above. I know some of them, and it is very annoying to talk about magic with them. They don't know much about magic, yet they think they know everything. When you are talking about a book that you bought last week, cheap magicians are telling you about the latest free trick they got with XXX Magic's newsletter! If you recognized yourself from the above description, please seriously consider about switching to "real" magic. Cheap magicians are becoming more and more common, and I don't know about others, but I'm so fed up with these guys. You cant talk about magic with them - yet they are part of your group. It's like as if you were playing in a hockey team, with all the props, shields, helmets, proper skates etc., and then you have guys in your team that have a pair of age old skates, a stick that they made from wood by themselves, and a dirty sweatshirt of the same color as the game shirts of the rest of the team... Want those guys to play for your team? ...I didn't think so . |
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Loual4 Special user Montreal, Canada 670 Posts |
Wow! After reading this, I certainly would not want to be associated with "Cheap Magicians"!
But if I stop and think for a second, this all brings back memories of a long time ago. When I first started in magic, back in the 70's, the internet did not exist at all... But there were public libraries, with plenty of free books! And guess what? A lot of those tricks were done with cards (which I borrowed...), silks (stolen from my mother, while her back was turned...), and yes! props that I had built myself! Come to think of it, I still use some props that I build myself (square circle, mirror box, ...). I guess I differ from the "cheap Magician" in the fact that I do perform as often as I can at hospitals, children's parties, walk around for adults, ... And I do buy various things from my local magic shop. My point is that if we look at ourselves carefully, we might find that we all started out as cheap magicians... As for your question about wanting any of those guys "playing on my team", I guess my answer to that is: If they have the potential to become more, then YES. Just my opinion... Have a good day! Louis Jutras |
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dherberg New user The netherlands 19 Posts |
Nope,
I'm not cheap........ I'm completely the other way around. Open my closet and ou'll find about 50 dvd's a 100 tricks and all kinds of stuff. I just didn't had the time to learn even one of them, sjeez I'm probably a "dumb" magician Someone who heard my story even told me that I would probably never become a magician. Someday I hope to prove him wrong Coen |
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Kent Wong Inner circle Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 2458 Posts |
I agree with parts of this post in that the secrets of magic should be aquired eithically. However, I don't necessarily believe that a magician needs to spend a lot of money at a magic shop in order to become a good magician.
In fact, many full-time professional magicians spend very little at their local magic shop. For the most part, they have their shows set and perfected, and they are spending all of their time either performing or getting more gigs. Once in a while a new effect may come up that is considered worthy of incorporating into their show, but that is more the exception than the norm. Yet many of those magicians will still come into the local magic shop and chat, without buying much of anything. I wouldn't consider these magicians to be cheap. Just my 2 cents. Kent
"Believing is Seeing"
<BR>______________________ <BR> <BR>www.kentwongmagic.com |
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evolve629 Inner circle A stack of 3838 Posts |
I don't buy magic books but I have 80 magic dvds and hundreds of packet tricks/ props. I don't like to rip off other magicians and I like to buy their creations by buying their tricks even though at times I can figure the magic out by watching the demo videos a few times. However, I can also empathize with folks that do not have extrx cash to buy tricks. Just because I can buy magic stuff for my own pleasure and/or collection, I also see the value of ingenuity and research on the net. Thanks and happy posting!
One hundred percent of the shots you don't take don't go in - Wayne Gretzky
My favorite part is putting the gaffs in the spectators hands...it gives you that warm fuzzy feeling inside! - Bob Kohler |
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Felix Cardician Regular user 152 Posts |
Interesting posts, thanks for your opinions!
To Kent, It's not all about how much time you spend in a magic shop or what you buy, it is the attitude that cheap magicians have towards the art: always look for free tricks in magic-exposed sites, search for them, do whatever it takes so that you do not have to purchase the original thus giving your money to the creator. It's like they have made a decision that they will "battle" against magic to get what they need. It is the awful disrespect that they show to magic, that makes me want to slap every cheap magician in the face and say "wake up!". |
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Justin2200 Veteran user 319 Posts |
Don't waste your time felix. By the time you got them all slapped, there'd be another whole generation of them. In that time you could have learned new effects, and done many shows
The Presitidigitationist
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Andy-JM New user 9 Posts |
I learn all my magic through books. I have seen sites that say "Vanish Card Routine - Free" and thought to myself "why". Buying and reading books is so important as the detail is far supirior allowing for a better magician to be produced. These "vultures" (love the way you refer to them felix) are cheap but I imagin that they are no where near as good as those who actually go to the trouble of buying and reading a book. Plus these people are not showing the proper respect to the creator of the trick as when buying a book you are paying for the performance rights...so these "cheap magicians" are not only vultures but thieves.
But that's just my opinion, others have different ones so I'll see what others have to say. |
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Kent Wong Inner circle Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 2458 Posts |
Felix,
I agree with you on the ATTITUDE aspect. Even on the Café we tend to run into "lurkers" once in a while who do nothing more than try to gain secrets for free. But this doesn't make them "Cheap" magicians - it makes them "Unethical". Unfortunately, the two things in life that are the hardes to teach and enforce are ethics and morality. You either have it or you don't. Kent
"Believing is Seeing"
<BR>______________________ <BR> <BR>www.kentwongmagic.com |
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haywire Special user Philadelphia 760 Posts |
I am by no means cheap, and have purchased quite a large collection of effects.
As far as getting tricks for free, anyone can go to the public library and get quite a collection of magical secrets for free. I don't see anything wrong with that. That is how many of us got started. If I really like an effect and plan to perform it, I'll buy it but I do enjoy browsing books for new effects I may not already have seen of known... Steven |
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Tabasco Loyal user The Netherlands 219 Posts |
Felix,
Did you never encounter a kid in the hockey team without any money, a scruffy outfit, that played the stars from the sky? (don't know if this is the right expression) And maybe becomes famous, starts to earn ****loads of money and then starts to spend a lot????? Just an idea. I personally own about 120 DVD's, 40 books, and I don't even bother to count the tricks I bought. And I don't even perform professionally, so I'm a hobbyist. Besides that I spend time on the internet, looking for new ideas and patter. I don't consider myself cheap. But when I started magic, I was young, very young, my monthly pocket money wasn't enough to buy tricks, I wished we had internet in that time, would definitely have brought me to a higher level of magic by now. In my opinion people will always buy tricks, even when they surf the net. And to be honest I get a bit annoyed by people who complain about the info that can be found on the internet (books, music, movies, tricks....) Can you explain to me why the internet is so popular? And at the same time people still make a lot of money by making movies, music, writing books (and inventing good tricks)? We have encountered this issue several times in the last decennia, music tapes, photocopies, even Rembrandt and van Gogh where copied a couple of hundred years ago. Now we have CDR and DVDR, and the internet. You can't stop it, so why not use it. I'm an artist (photographer) and besides that I work on internet related projects. My work has been copied several times (photos and websites) I cannot prevent that from happening, so I have learned over the years to see it as a compliment. People apparently like my work so much that they have the urge to copy it. And 9 out of 10 times they don't even credit me. That I think is the biggest difference with the magic world. If I see a trick on the internet, most of the times it is credited to the creator, for me that is prove that it has to do with appreciation.... And not being cheap but hey this is just MHO. Happy posting PS as you can see in my signature, I'm the owner of falsecuts.com, and yes you will be able to find a lot of free tricks in our indexes. So you will call me cheap, but just realize how much time I put into that website, and then think again. PPS you are more then welcome to join, for free
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Felix Cardician Regular user 152 Posts |
Quote:
Did you never encounter a kid in the hockey team without any money, a scruffy outfit, that played the stars from the sky? (don't know if this is the right expression) And maybe becomes famous, starts to earn ****loads of money and then starts to spend a lot??? Just an idea. A cheap magician won't become famous....unless he is so cheap that everyone knows him because of that. Again, it is the attitude that those kids have - no respect for magic. Also, about money, this has of course something to do with it too. Cheap magicians can afford a computer and a fast internet connection to download ripped files and hang on magic exposed sites, don't tell me they can't afford a book or two. Magic is easily one of the least expensive hobbies I know. It can't be all about money, and it is not. It is about how cheap you are. If you think you can't afford a magic book or DVD that you would like, where you could learn new effects and also get the performance rights to them, then magic is not for you. Same thing with every hobby - if you can't afford a hockey stick, then hockey is not for you. P.S. Everyone who owns a computer and a fast internet connection, can afford a magic book or DVD, just as well as a hockey stick. It is just a matter of how cheap the person is inside... |
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Tabasco Loyal user The Netherlands 219 Posts |
Maybe you should read this thread It's a funny story (and maybe true). But I stick to my earlier viewpoint and think that you judge too quick.
Hockey isn't big in my country, but here they love soccer, and many famous soccer players started realy poor and now make milions per year......
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Justin2200 Veteran user 319 Posts |
Quote:
On 2005-06-03 02:43, Felix Cardician wrote: Unless their parents are the one who pay for the internet...
The Presitidigitationist
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Felix Cardician Regular user 152 Posts |
Quote:
Unless their parents are the one who pay for the internet... ...then their parents can afford their magic. Come on, why are you trying to shoot me down here? I'm sure you know what I mean, so why try to irritate purposely? Once again, it is about the attitude. Cheap magicians somehow think that they are entitled to get the secrets for free, secrets that famous magicians have maybe developed for years. Secrets that other magicians, real magicians have learned through books or from the inventor himself. A cheap magician shows up and boom, they want the information, right now, for free. They are willing to invest in decks of cards, but do they ever realize the INFORMATION is also valuable, and it should not be treated like garbage. PS. About soccer or hockey, this is not about how rich or poor you are - it's about being a dickhead or not. A poor magician who has respect for magic and understands how things work, can of course become successful. But do they want a total jerk play in their soccer team or hockey team, not for long. |
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Tabasco Loyal user The Netherlands 219 Posts |
Felix,
maybe it is me not being english or american, The English language is not my mothertongue. When I read your post and see the words cheap and not paying for tricks and then an insult to those people, I do get annoyed. I was that kid in the soccer team and I was playing on a pair of soccershoes that were 1 size too small (left overs from the kid next door) and NO my mother didn't had the money to buy me an new pair. My first magic kid I got from my mom when I was 6 and she had to save for a long time for that. If you say that you dislike people who steal tricks and ideas, then I can agree with you but the way I read it, you are just talking about stuff you probably don't know Sh*t about. And you are blaming people whitout money, to be @ssholes. One last word from me about this: As an example I would like to take my website http://www.falsecuts.com You will find a lot of free tricks there, but this is an index that was filled by other magicians who have a passion for card magic. Of course I encounter people who 'steal' tricks from the web and post them on our website, but when this happens and when they don't give it their own touch, the trick is not accepted, and they will not get access to the other tricks. So yeah in a way they pay (with tricks) to see tricks. What I realy like about the site is, that since I started it I met many nice and interresting people, and did I have many discussions about magic. So I learned a lot and yes all for free ( not looking at the time I have to put into the site) The funny thing is that there are many members that offer me their tricks (original tricks) and ask me to put it on the site or in a manuscript. For free as long as I credit them. So we have a growing community of magicians, who are enjoying the web and no one is complaining. So yes, stealing = "BAD", sharing ideas, and knowledge, and teaching someone a 'new trick' I have to say, "that doesn't happen enough" Felix, this is not personal, as long as you keep it general...... Happy posting Best regards Bas
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Felix Cardician Regular user 152 Posts |
Tabasco,
you have problems understanding written english. Quote:
And you are blaming people whitout money, to be @ssholes. When did I say anything like that!!??? This is about people being CHEAP. By this I do NOT mean that they are financially poor. Read some of the posts above, for example Andy-JM's post. We are talking about ETHICS here and people involved in magic who don't respect the inventors, writers, authors, performers, at all. Money may have some influences on each magicians buyings, but it does NOT entitle to practically steal effects and to act like a jerk. For the FOURTH....no wait I think the FIFTH time I say this - it's about the attitude of those people. |
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Mr_Matthew_Charles New user United Kingdom 33 Posts |
I agree with most of your points, but not the one about only performing to friends. Some people may just be too shy to perform to total strangers, just because someone chooses to perform to friends and family doesn't mean they havn't put the same hard work into their skills that someone who performs does.
If you don't have enimies then you don't have character
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Felix Cardician Regular user 152 Posts |
Mr_Matthew_Charles,
You are right, people are different in that area of course. That was not what I meant in my first post. Read it again, I said that cheap magicians don't perform to public. That does not mean that everyone who does not perform to public is a cheap magician, no way. I know a few magicians who are very dedicated to the art and have a huge knowledge about magic and its history, yet they choose not to perform to public. |
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Mr_Matthew_Charles New user United Kingdom 33 Posts |
Oh sorry! That was a mistake on my part.
just had a thought, maybe instead of getting annoyed at cheap magicians, use that energy to work on your own effects, then with pure slieght of hand you can make a 'cheap magician' look like a small child with their first pack of cards. Just an idea though I'm not sure if that's a wise sentiment, but it sounded right when I thought about it. Matt x
If you don't have enimies then you don't have character
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