![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Magical Fire! Fantastic Chinese food! Step right up!
I had a lazy start this morning...slept in and enjoyed my lucid dream. Woke up, had breakfast, read comics (this SomethingPositive was especially hilarious) fiddled around a bit, and it was two o'clock. Yay! What an awesome way to start a Saturday!
So, quick summary of the rest of the day for my ADHD friends: went to Tannen's Magic Shop (where I learned how to turn my hand into a flamethrower), then to Maui Taco's around the corner where a bunch of experienced magicians were gathered. From there to the other nearby magic shop, Fantasma. Got to talking with a bunch of younger magicians at Fantasma, then they invited me to join them for dinner and it was fantastic.
Ok, more detail after the cut for them's as care.
So, after I finished puttering around this morning, I looked out the window at the beautiful day. Realized that today was the perfect day to start doing something about that "I should really take better advantage of New York" thought I've been having. So I dug up the address for Tannen's Magic, a magic shop here in the city. Turns out it's on 34th street, practically next door, so I hopped on up there and went in.
Not what I expected. From the outside, the building looks like an office--it says "330" in big numbers, but there's no name or anything. You go in and there's a security guard and a board with a list of company names and suite numbers. You sign in, take the elevator up, walk down this long industrial hall past a bunch of unmarked or barely-marked closed doors, until you start to wonder if you're in the right place. Then at the end of the hall, you see the sign: "Tannen's Magic".
Once you're inside, though, it's like a sorcerer's lair--a comfortable sized room with all the walls covered with books, DVDs, boxes of cards, gimmicks, etc, and a bunch of random magician customers standing around talking magic and fiddling with cards. One of the employees was demonstrating some effects(*) for a group of high school girls. They decided what they were going to buy and started to ring out--while they were waiting in line, I offered to do an effect for the one at the end of the line and quickly got the whole bunch clustered around. I did a simple rubber band effect that I've been working on and it blew them away. I'm proud of that one--I've been refining the presentation, and the thing I've discovered (which is not news to anyone in the magic community, I know) is that the presentation is the ONLY part of the effect that matters. In this effect, I make the rubber band pass right through the person's thumb while they're watching. I've learned to touch their thumb with my forefinger as part of the patter, saying "See, as long as your thumb is here [touch, EFFECT HAPPENS], the rubber band can't go anywhere." And as I'm saying the last phrase, I hold up the rubber band, with my finger still sitting on their thumb. It's a great subtlety, because they're waiting for something to happen and then they suddenly realize that it already HAS happened and they are amazed. One of the employees (Rick) actually complimented me saying "That's a nice touch, putting your finger on their thumb like that." That was really flattering. I started talking to Rick and he showed me a really cool control ("Oops") that's just brilliantly elegant. I also learned how to produce tongues of fire 2-3 FEET long from my bare hands on demand! How totally awesome is that?! I will be practising this one in my highly non-flammable bathroom, I think.
Anyway, I asked if there was a place where magician's gathered, and Rick, directed me to Maui Tacos, where he said local magicians gathered every Saturday. So I went, and there were 8 or 9 guys there, mostly late fifties I'd guess. They were chatting, socializing, doing effects, working on effects. I struck up a conversation with one guy (Jack) who is a lawyer for the German Embassy and has been doing magic for a couple of decades. One of the older guys (Greg) introduced himself and we started talking. He showed me several nice moves and was kind enough to critique an effect for me. After things broke up, he asked if I'd been to Fantasma (the other NYC magic shop) and, when I said no, he offered to point me at it. We walked out together, made a quick stop at the local Comic Shop (his friend is the artist on a recent issue of Batman--Neil Gaiman is the writer!), and then he pointed me at Fantasma and continued on home. Greg is a really nice guy--he's an art teacher at Pratt Institute, and I enjoyed listening to him talk. I think he enjoys the teaching per se, but he's definitely frustrated at the fact that so many of his students are paying ridiculously high prices ($40,000 / year) to not learn--they are partying, dressing in black, getting tattoos, trying to talk like artists, but not practicing. I felt his pain.
Fantasma is very different from Tannen's. Much larger, much more commercial, much better advertised. In the back there was a table where five or six magicians were gathered--3 or 4 teenagers and two guys in their late-20s / early-30s. I hung back, not wanting to force myself on them; them invited me to come sit down. I took out my deck and started fiddling with the rubber bands; they instantly picked up that I was a magician too--I immediately confessed my n00b status, though. I really, really enjoyed talking with them. The teenagers (several of whom had been working at Tannen's when I was in there) were very mature, all of them were friendly. I asked them to critique the same effect that I had done for Greg; they did so enthusiastically, and came up with even better comments than Greg had, all without being in any way negative. A few minutes later, Tony (one of the "seniors") showed me a similar but slightly different effect. Johnathon (the other "senior") did a rubber band effect that I've been trying to learn and having little success with. He did it **beautifully**...totally smooth, totally perfect. Even though I know exactly how it's done, I didn't see him do it. When I mentioned this, one of the teenagers pointed out to me why--Johnathon uses a different (apparently more standard) technique than the one I've been trying to learn, and his is both easier and cleaner. That was cool to learn.
We probably hung out for an hour or more, and then everyone started to pack up. As I was gathering up, Tony invited me to join them for dinner at the nearby Chinese place, which I enthusiastically accepted (I hadn't eaten at Maui Tacos). Not only did I enjoy another hour or so of chatting with these guys, but I got fantastic Chicken Moo Goo Gai Pan, what a deal!
Actually, the dinner conversation was particularly fulfilling for me. The subject of comedy came up, and I mentioned that I used to do stand-up. Given that even the youngest teenager at the table was an enormously better magician than I was (am!), it was nice to have a topic where I actually had some expertise that I could share in exchange for everything I'd been learning. On top of that, it came out that Tony used to be a pro, and used to do a lot of street performances. I'd like to do a show on Union Square come warmer weather, and Tony was perfectly happy to share pointers on how to do that effectively--how to gather a crowd, how to work the crowd once you've got it, how to pass the hat successfully, etc.
And, after that I came home, with a full tummy and hands that can throw fire at will. What an awesome day!
(*) "Hookers do tricks. Magicians do effects." Thanks for a great aphorism, Stacey, I've taken it to heart!
And now, I think, I will watch The Incredibles. Or maybe Hustle. Or maybe both. I haven't decided. I'm pondering going out for ice cream to make it a really perfect day, but I don't really need the calories. Maybe I'll have some Milk Thistle chocolate milk and some dark chocolate balls instead. In any case, I will now sit and purr contentedly to myself.
So, quick summary of the rest of the day for my ADHD friends: went to Tannen's Magic Shop (where I learned how to turn my hand into a flamethrower), then to Maui Taco's around the corner where a bunch of experienced magicians were gathered. From there to the other nearby magic shop, Fantasma. Got to talking with a bunch of younger magicians at Fantasma, then they invited me to join them for dinner and it was fantastic.
Ok, more detail after the cut for them's as care.
So, after I finished puttering around this morning, I looked out the window at the beautiful day. Realized that today was the perfect day to start doing something about that "I should really take better advantage of New York" thought I've been having. So I dug up the address for Tannen's Magic, a magic shop here in the city. Turns out it's on 34th street, practically next door, so I hopped on up there and went in.
Not what I expected. From the outside, the building looks like an office--it says "330" in big numbers, but there's no name or anything. You go in and there's a security guard and a board with a list of company names and suite numbers. You sign in, take the elevator up, walk down this long industrial hall past a bunch of unmarked or barely-marked closed doors, until you start to wonder if you're in the right place. Then at the end of the hall, you see the sign: "Tannen's Magic".
Once you're inside, though, it's like a sorcerer's lair--a comfortable sized room with all the walls covered with books, DVDs, boxes of cards, gimmicks, etc, and a bunch of random magician customers standing around talking magic and fiddling with cards. One of the employees was demonstrating some effects(*) for a group of high school girls. They decided what they were going to buy and started to ring out--while they were waiting in line, I offered to do an effect for the one at the end of the line and quickly got the whole bunch clustered around. I did a simple rubber band effect that I've been working on and it blew them away. I'm proud of that one--I've been refining the presentation, and the thing I've discovered (which is not news to anyone in the magic community, I know) is that the presentation is the ONLY part of the effect that matters. In this effect, I make the rubber band pass right through the person's thumb while they're watching. I've learned to touch their thumb with my forefinger as part of the patter, saying "See, as long as your thumb is here [touch, EFFECT HAPPENS], the rubber band can't go anywhere." And as I'm saying the last phrase, I hold up the rubber band, with my finger still sitting on their thumb. It's a great subtlety, because they're waiting for something to happen and then they suddenly realize that it already HAS happened and they are amazed. One of the employees (Rick) actually complimented me saying "That's a nice touch, putting your finger on their thumb like that." That was really flattering. I started talking to Rick and he showed me a really cool control ("Oops") that's just brilliantly elegant. I also learned how to produce tongues of fire 2-3 FEET long from my bare hands on demand! How totally awesome is that?! I will be practising this one in my highly non-flammable bathroom, I think.
Anyway, I asked if there was a place where magician's gathered, and Rick, directed me to Maui Tacos, where he said local magicians gathered every Saturday. So I went, and there were 8 or 9 guys there, mostly late fifties I'd guess. They were chatting, socializing, doing effects, working on effects. I struck up a conversation with one guy (Jack) who is a lawyer for the German Embassy and has been doing magic for a couple of decades. One of the older guys (Greg) introduced himself and we started talking. He showed me several nice moves and was kind enough to critique an effect for me. After things broke up, he asked if I'd been to Fantasma (the other NYC magic shop) and, when I said no, he offered to point me at it. We walked out together, made a quick stop at the local Comic Shop (his friend is the artist on a recent issue of Batman--Neil Gaiman is the writer!), and then he pointed me at Fantasma and continued on home. Greg is a really nice guy--he's an art teacher at Pratt Institute, and I enjoyed listening to him talk. I think he enjoys the teaching per se, but he's definitely frustrated at the fact that so many of his students are paying ridiculously high prices ($40,000 / year) to not learn--they are partying, dressing in black, getting tattoos, trying to talk like artists, but not practicing. I felt his pain.
Fantasma is very different from Tannen's. Much larger, much more commercial, much better advertised. In the back there was a table where five or six magicians were gathered--3 or 4 teenagers and two guys in their late-20s / early-30s. I hung back, not wanting to force myself on them; them invited me to come sit down. I took out my deck and started fiddling with the rubber bands; they instantly picked up that I was a magician too--I immediately confessed my n00b status, though. I really, really enjoyed talking with them. The teenagers (several of whom had been working at Tannen's when I was in there) were very mature, all of them were friendly. I asked them to critique the same effect that I had done for Greg; they did so enthusiastically, and came up with even better comments than Greg had, all without being in any way negative. A few minutes later, Tony (one of the "seniors") showed me a similar but slightly different effect. Johnathon (the other "senior") did a rubber band effect that I've been trying to learn and having little success with. He did it **beautifully**...totally smooth, totally perfect. Even though I know exactly how it's done, I didn't see him do it. When I mentioned this, one of the teenagers pointed out to me why--Johnathon uses a different (apparently more standard) technique than the one I've been trying to learn, and his is both easier and cleaner. That was cool to learn.
We probably hung out for an hour or more, and then everyone started to pack up. As I was gathering up, Tony invited me to join them for dinner at the nearby Chinese place, which I enthusiastically accepted (I hadn't eaten at Maui Tacos). Not only did I enjoy another hour or so of chatting with these guys, but I got fantastic Chicken Moo Goo Gai Pan, what a deal!
Actually, the dinner conversation was particularly fulfilling for me. The subject of comedy came up, and I mentioned that I used to do stand-up. Given that even the youngest teenager at the table was an enormously better magician than I was (am!), it was nice to have a topic where I actually had some expertise that I could share in exchange for everything I'd been learning. On top of that, it came out that Tony used to be a pro, and used to do a lot of street performances. I'd like to do a show on Union Square come warmer weather, and Tony was perfectly happy to share pointers on how to do that effectively--how to gather a crowd, how to work the crowd once you've got it, how to pass the hat successfully, etc.
And, after that I came home, with a full tummy and hands that can throw fire at will. What an awesome day!
(*) "Hookers do tricks. Magicians do effects." Thanks for a great aphorism, Stacey, I've taken it to heart!
And now, I think, I will watch The Incredibles. Or maybe Hustle. Or maybe both. I haven't decided. I'm pondering going out for ice cream to make it a really perfect day, but I don't really need the calories. Maybe I'll have some Milk Thistle chocolate milk and some dark chocolate balls instead. In any case, I will now sit and purr contentedly to myself.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject