Live Long and Prosper - Stone Cold Magic Magazine

Live Long and Prosper
By Jeff Stone

It’s Star Trek Season; what can I say? Don’t worry; no spoilers here, but if you haven’t seen it yet, stop reading right now; stop practicing your dang Faro Shuffle, and get out there and watch it! Seriously; I can wait. If, however, you have seen it, then you may continue. If you’ve been on this planet for about 25 years or more, then you should know who coined the phrase, “Live Long and Prosper.”

This is a very common Vulcan farewell expression. Of course the most famous Vulcan is Mr. logic himself, Spock. It’s all about the logic. Hang in there; I’m working my way down a path . . . most of you should know about my new DVD, Gemstones, and right now all of your are asking the question, “What the heck does, Star Trek and Spock have to do with Gemstones, and what the heck do either of them have to do with Roots and Branches?” I told you, hang in there; I’m working my way down a path.

Of all the emails and comments I’ve gotten about Gemstones, it seems that two of the big favorites are Quasi-photo and Epicenter. The former the reappearance of a vanished card to an unused roll of film, and the latter is a reappearance of a vanished dollar bill inside of a still-wrapped Twinkie.

Many people have made comments about these effects, but I’m going to single out two specific people who both gave me the same exact feedback. Both Wesley James and Liam Montier independently gave me the same feedback. Basically they liked both effects, but felt they were missing a . . . wait for it . . . logical link to the props. Speaking of logical links, there is your Star Trek, Spock, Gemstones, link (get it link as in website link) . . . but I digress, but I do it so well . . . crap, I digressed again, didn’t I?

Ok, I think I’m back. So I’m not going to give all the details of their feedback. For those who have the video, all the details are found on the DVD owners-only-site. However, I will tell you this, both Liam and Wesley suggested that rather than a playing card for Quasi-Photo, it should be a photograph. DUH! Sometimes I wonder if I’m retarded. I can’t believe I missed that. It makes perfect sense, and suddenly opens the door to so many more presentations, such as the ones suggested by Joe Diamond, Wesley James, and Liam Montier on the DVD companion site.

Liam also suggested the idea of finding the receipt for the Twinkie inside the Twinkie rather than a dollar bill. Again, this is a very logical reason for the props. In the February 2009 Roots and Branches article we discussed motivation for your actions, patter and moves, but we did not speak about motivation of your props.

Root:
Let’s remember our roots. This month’s root: logical props. I’m sure you’ve already guessed this by now. The serious student would do well to study Tommy Wonder’s work and his thinking on this subject. I’m not advocating that every single prop MUST always be 100% logically tied to the routine. However, the more I study the work of the more clever amongst us in an attempt to improve myself, I truly see the real value in this root. Combine this with the February 2009 Roots and Branches article, and you’ve added a whole new dimension of clarity and focus to your magic.

Branch:
Let’s build our branches. Your branch this month is to find, in the next 30 days an effect that you already do that uses some sort of prop, and give the prop meaning, or replace the prop with one that is more meaningful yet still allows the effect to be accomplished.

In my defense on the Twinkie effect (get it . . . Twinkie Defense . . . if not, look it up), the presentation on the DVD that I used was about how George Washington had wooden teeth because he loved sweets and all his teeth fell out. That’s why the bill (George is on the American $1.00 bill) ends up in the Twinkie. Pretty logical, and would pass a logic test I think as far as magician’s logic is concerned, but Liam’s idea of the receipt adds a whole new level of logic.

I’ll give you a couple of pointers to get you going in the right direction, but then you’re on your own. Just a simple coins across using half dollars . . . why not use tiny toy airplanes or birds. The logic is that they fly and are going to fly across. Or maybe the fact that there is a bird on the back of the Half Dollar is enough logic.

I paid $300 for The Mother of All Book Tests, and it is worth every penny. However, lately I’ve abandoned it for a plain old dictionary when doing book tests. Why? Because “A dictionary has every single word you can think of and even words that you would never think of.” So my logic is that a dictionary makes it harder because it has more possibilities.

Just look at your arsenal and think about this. I want you to change one effect in the next 30 days. Now go study the classics, and go discover your true magical self.

Please “like” this article and post any questions or a comments below:

MormonYoYoMan says:

May 2009 at 10:53 pm

So…you’ve joined our way of thinking as to unprepared dictionaries vs gimmicked booktest props. Soon we shall reprogram ALL your thinking. Your mind will be ours.
—Them

Jeff Stone says:

May 2009 at 12:55 am

Never, no never!
-Us

Steven Dickinson says:

July 2009 at 1:00 pm

I really like the idea of Quasi-Photo but it seems kind of out dated with the onslaught of digital cameras. Have you encountered any type of issues with this?

July 2009 at 4:13 am

@Steven – good question. I’ve never had a problem with it. It’s kind of like the VCR or Answering Machine. Most adults still know what it is. It’ll be a good 15 or so years before you start seeing people who say, “What’s a VCR.”

Think about the 8-track. people in their early twenties and younger don’t know what those are, but anyone older than that still does.

With the film roll, there are still plenty of people who develop their own film non-digital style. Eventually, I’ll change the patter to something about an old relic from a time capsule or something like that. Then I’ll hold it up and ask, “does anyone know what this is?”

Then maybe seven chocolate covered tuna steaks will will attack me for being so patronizing, but I think I made that last part up.

July 2009 at 12:12 pm

Very good points. I don’t think I would have any problems then. It has wonderful potential for cards or paper money.

July 2009 at 2:33 am

@Steven – I know you’ve got Gemstones (thank you). Go to the Gemstones site: http://www.stonecoldmagic.com/gemstones and login. The password is on the insert in the DVD.

Anyway, check out the “Alternate Handling Ideas” Page, and you’ll find some great ideas from Wesley James, Joe Diamond and Liam Montier regarding Quasi Photo.

Steven says:

July 2009 at 12:09 pm

Oh, cool. Thank you very much kind sir. Have a great weekend.

OldZombie says:

July 2009 at 9:09 am

Speaking of VHS tapes, I wonder if you could do a similar effect with with an old tape. Pull the tape out and have something come out with it… photo, bill, receipt… Not even sure if it would work, but something to think about.