Make: technology on your time Volume 13

Review area devoted to Magic books, leaflets and other printed material

Moderators: nickj, Lady of Mystery, Mandrake, bananafish, support

Visit Magicbox for all the latest and best effects! Web Design for Magicians MagicWorld Magic Shop for Magic Tricks Sorcery Shop - Home of the ITR Playing Cards for Magicians UK's Online Magic Tricks and Jokes Shop offers kids and beginner magic tricks and jokes.

Make: technology on your time Volume 13

Postby .robb. » Feb 21st, '08, 18:59



Make: technology on your time Volume 13

Make: is a magazine for DIY nerds that has covered everything from how to make a marshmallow gun to building your own blimp bots and everything in between, including guitars made from cigar boxes and solar powered xylophones. The latest issue is dedicated to magic. You can find them online at: http://www.makezine.com $15 for 208 pages this issue.

The first magic related article is a great write up of illusion designer John Gaughan who has designed and built items for Doug Henning, Mark Wilson (whom he worked for from the age of 14-early 20s including the TV series The Magic Land of Allakazam), Siegried and Roy, David Copperfield, David Blaine and many more. Includes some nice pictures of his workshop and artifacts.

Next is a short how-to that is not presented as having to do anything with magic but may be of help to some here. It's instruction on how to "copper-coat a tin can, turning it into an aesthically pleasing, reusable container". It also explains how to then give the object a dark, neglected antique look.

Now we come to the in-depth magic section. There are five tricks covered. They are broke down individually into materials, preparation, performance and patter. The tricks are as follows:

The Burning Bible
Dramatic flames leap out of an open Bible and return every time you close and open it again.

Hippity Hop Rabbits
Black and white rabbits invisibly trade places and the audience thinks it knows how- until they magically appear in pink and green.

Six Bill Repeat
You count out six dollar bills (or play money), keep giving bills away and always still have six. Since my dad's business cards were his Uncle Bill play money, this let him give them away at every event.

Mouth Coil
A torn scrap of paper put into your mouth turns into an impressively long, colorful streamer.

The Fiery Furnace
You tie three identical silk handkerchiefs together and place them into a "fiery furnace" container. When you remove them, a fourth, different-colored silk is tied between them.

Next is an even more thorough break down of The Escaping Blocks.

It is followed by an excellent, but short, article titled The Conjurer's Dilemma. The article explains the dilemma of protecting illusions via copyright or just keep it a secret as bet and long as possible. It lists and pictures various copyrighted illusions such as Horace Goldin's Saw a Person in Half, David Maas' Quick Change, John Gaughan's levitation device used by David Copperfield, Pepper's Ghost from 1877 and 1939 and a generically named Conjuring Apparatus which is a chair designed to make the person sitting in it disappear.

The magazine then jumps back to the presentation style as before with:

The Levitating Head
Only you can stop the head from sliding down the string.

The Power of Negative Thinking (Change Bag)
While they're watching the money, you'll know the trick in in the bag.

Ghost Catcher
How to catch a spirit with a scarf.

Telekinetic Pen
An ordinary Sharpie dances at your command.

Diminutive Balls of Fire
Construct a fireball shooter.

Next is an explanation, but not a how-to, of how the carnival game Sucker Bucket works.

Still with me? :lol:

Then comes an article about Mathemagician Martin Gardner and using a deck of cards with the Gilbreath Principle to do various card tricks.

It is followed by a very quick and simple how to of Mobius Linking Rings.

That's it for the construction instruction. I came across a couple of ads that some of you may find interesting:

Holonzki Wall Lamp by Ingo Maurer http://www.ingo-maurer.com There's an empty socket with a pull chain. you pull the chain and a 3D holographic image of a light bulb appears and luminates. The hologram light bulb generates light just like a real light bulb.

Amazing Magnets http://www.amazingmagnets.com carries various magnets of all shapes, sizes and strengths.

I have a subscription to Make: and cringed when I saw magic on the cover. I was relieved to see that they treated the topic with respect and addressed the importance of practice and presentation just as much as the construction of the illusions. IMO, it's worth the $15.

User avatar
.robb.
Senior Member
 
Posts: 382
Joined: Apr 25th, '07, 15:54
Location: USA 30:SH

Return to Reviews - Books and other printed formats

Dude That's Cool Magic Best prices around! World-Of-Magic, Suppliers of quality Magic Worldwide Aeternum Servare Secreta Manufacturer of modern & unique magic apparatus! A web site set up to sell my book, THE STRIPPER DECK, and future magical/mentalism titles. Best prices around!

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest