Winter
has passed and the bugs have arrived. I'm
writing this on the first day of spring 1999,
or for the Y2K freaks, what can be said as
the first day of the last spring of the century.
As for me, I fully expect that on January
1, 2000 nothing in my life will have changed,
other than I'll be one day older than I was
on the last day of 1999. I simply can not
get excited about this Y2K hoopla. I don't
even care if my computer melts down for I
have nothing stored that would matter if the
year is 1900 or 2000.
.jpg)
I do, though, care about the first day of
spring. It's the time to enjoy the annual
coming of the daffodils, those silly yellow
flowers that look like children singing. It's
also time for annual spring cleaning, or in
my case, time to clean out the bugs. I'm not
talking about those small creepy crawlers,
for some of them I rather like. My seven year
old granddaughter and I have great fun tying
several feet of thread to large black beetles
and walking them around on the patio as if
they were on a leash. Better yet, it's more
fun to go to the garden supply store and buy
a box of lady bugs and then allow them crawl
all over your arm. A thousand lady bugs on
your arm creates a sensation that is beyond
description. So, I can live with the six legged
creatures. The bugs to which I'm alluding
are the things that "bug" me in magic. I have
promised my family that being in my 60th year
of my journey from the cradle to the grave
I will be kinder and more gentle with my fellow
magicians. I still won't belong to a magic
club, but I promise to be nicer to those who
do ....if I can, and I think I can. Likewise,
I agree to not let so many things in magic
bug me....if I can, though I'm not sure I
can. First, though, I need to clear the air
and vent about some of those "bugging" things
now. Let's begin.
This
really bugs me. Any magic that happens in
the mouth. Cards, coins, paper coils, silks,
you name it. If it happens in the mouth if
bugs me. It's even worse when these things
from the mouth are tossed into the audience,
such as a selected card, covered with spittle,
being sailed out into the crowd.
In-Your-Face
magic. Do I have to explain this one? I'm
not talking about challenge magic, for challenge
magic can be delightful if done with kindness
and friendship. However, I can see nothing
kind or friendly about getting in someone's
face. Sadly, this approach to presentation
seems to be catching on more and more, especially
in the venues where I work.
Playing
to other magicians when performing. We see
this quite often. A performing magician will
spot a fellow magician in the crowd and his
entire personality immediately changes. Folks,
inside jokes and innuendo have no meaning
to the laymen viewers. To make it worse, those
same viewers recognize them as inside jokes,
and they are being left out. It has the effect
of talking down to them. As a result it really
bugs me when the performer plays to other
magicians. Years ago when Senator Clark Crandall
was a night manager at the Magic Castle he
told me he avoided going to the shows because
the performers would often play to him.
Magicians
who laugh at their own jokes rather than allowing
the viewers to decide if the joke is funny.
I think many magicians start this trait as
a nervous habit until it finally weaves its
way into a presentation style. Some magicians
even laugh at everything they say whether
it's intended as a joke or not. Anyway, it
bugs me.
Magicians
who are always "on." There are times when
enough is enough. I could write pages on this,
but little more needs saying. It bugs me.
Throwing
items out into the audience such as a deck
of cards, a ball, a coin, or anything else.
I've written of this before and few have taken
me seriously. Consider this. You never know
when someone might have a nervous disorder
limiting reflex actions. Something even as
light as a coin or a spinning playing card
can cause serious injury to the eye.
.jpg)
Loud PA systems when they are not required.
Nothing is more uncomfortable than someone
speaking to you through a sound system that
dominates. It bugs me.
Involving
a spectator in a routine, asking a question,
and then not allowing the spectator to answer
the question.
Tacky
props, unpolished metal items, ratty dog-eared
decks of cards, and filthy sponge balls. I
may as well include bizarre attire. I'll never
understand why so many magicians wear such
goofy clothing, especially when the costume
in no way relates to the act, nor will I understand
why they will use shoddy props. It bugs me.
Tricks
where the magician messes or tinkers with
a spectator's clothing. I'm not talking about
Knife Through Jacket, for in this effect the
jacket has openly been loaned to the performer.
Though the owner may become a bit squeamish,
he does go in with his eyes open by agreeing
to doff his jacket and turn it over the soothsayer.
I'm talking about effects where the magician
gets in the viewer's private space and then
starts to monkey around with his tie, buttons,
and so on. I really can't imagine getting
in someone's private space, bending over,
and apparently biting off a jacket button.
I don't care that Malini did it. It still
reeks of bad manners from start to finish.
Tripod
tables having fringe around the top and mounted
on chrome drum stands. They look like exactly
what they are, a fringe top on a drum stand.
They bug me.
Magicians
who think that laymen viewers care what brand
of playing cards are being used. That bugs
me. Laymen don't know one brand from another,
and they don't care. I once said if you were
to stand in Times Square and place 100 different
decks of cards on the sidewalk, then ask everyone
passing by which deck they would like you
to use for card tricks, the reply would be,
"I don't care."
Magicians
who have never read the books, The Art of
Magic, Greater Magic, Expert Card Technique,
Our Magic, Sachs Sleight of Hand, Magic Without
Apparatus, Fine Art of Magic, and Hofzinser's
Card Conjuring. Yes, that bugs me. Moreover,
it bugs me even more when those same magicians
view the Tarbell Course, the Fitzkee Trilogy,
and the Buckley books as having much value.
(All flames gladly accepted on this one.)
Finally,
this one bugs me most. Magicians who constantly
rant, rave, complain, and then feel a need
to write about it. OOPS..............I'm outta
here!
