talkmagic.co.uk

do NOT show my picture to your wife/girlfriend! BIG MISTAKE! It will be all they can think about and you will be merely a distraction from that day forth. I know this is true from real life. Just today while walking through a restaurant, a beautiful woman at a table with her husband looked up at me as I approached, dropped her fork and said I was so stunningly handsome, she couldn't concentrate on her meal. REALLY! She said, "When I look at you, I just can't eat!" PROOF of my power over the fairer sex....

So Scott, have you seriously considered taking up comedy as a full time career?

Seriously though I look forward to the new DVDs. The production of this one may not have been th ebest (and I mean the video angles not the Jumbo coin. The jumbo coin production was magical poetry in motion).

The restaurant one especially sounds like it will be an awful lot of fun. (and I'd put money on it that no one yawns there!)

I am not one to try to hide things, and those who know me well will tell you that I am able to separate a negative review from an attack on me personally. So, just for the record and in an effort to present you with dissenting opinions, there is a thread on the Genii forum (where I am a member but have elected not to respond in this case) where people are just SHREDDING this DVD:

http://geniimagazine.com/forum/cgi-bin/ ... p=1#LATEST


Let it never be said that I tried to keep you from hearing both sides and making an informed decision....

Scott - thanks for posting that, it is indeed interesting and informative to see a review from the other side.

I have just read the genii posts, and have re-read my review and I stand by everything I said.

I think the original message on genii wasn't so bad - effectively the main jists seemed to be that he just didn't like your jokes, and that they had no place in a magic performence. I personally disagree with that, as I believe magic is about being entertaining and I actually found your humour very entertaining (and thats with all the Peanut butter and jelly quips going right over my head). I also believe the ring and rope routine was with a 'real' audience - and they all seemed to be enjoying it quite a lot.

Regardless to say - this was the reviewers opinion of the dvd and so he was entitled to say these things.

Some of the other posts though. Crikey. They seemed to be just out to attack you personally which frankly I would have expected better from the genii crowd and most were from people who hadn't even seen the DVD. Goodness only knows what you did to upset them...

It will be very interesting to see their comments after your restaurant DVD comes out - they will then be able to see some genuine audience reactions to your jokes and magic.

I would have thought that it would be fairly obvious that any magician that has been practicing magic professionally for the time you have, that that magician would know fairly accurately what works and what doesn't.

I don't know why...maybe its because of the level of anonimity the net gives but I have found that larger "international" forums are usually full of flamers. I think most of it is jealousy to be honest...

....I've not seen Scotts DVD and I am going to be the first to admit that there are DVD's that I yet havent got that I will be spending cash on first before even considering it (Ammars, more Daryl) but I will say that as a person, on this forum he has certainly made an impression. An all round nice guy it seems to me

Indeed, justifying a criticism is something which is harder to do than justifying a compliment.

'Flamers' are commonplace - and flamers are 'serial' posters, who have nothing better to say. Jealousy? Perhaps. I see it more as the fact that if someone can't say something good, they go overboard on saying something bad. Ignorance, is perhaps a better choice of word than jealousy.

Scott's work is something I've not had the pleasure of seeing - mainly, because as he suggests himself, a lot of the work isn't groundbreaking or new... and this simply doesn't appeal to me. Therefore, I am not able to comment on Scott's professional work.

On the other hand, I have heard many good things about Scott's work - and his 'family guy with a nice attitude' is one of his appeals.

Sorry, Scott, for not being a 'buyer' - but perhaps my level of respect for a fellow magician with such credibility as yourself will allow me some lenience?

All in all, the positive review from Bananafish is worth 10 bad reviews. As mentioned, it's quite common for Flamers to give reviews of items that they don't actually own - as it's easier to gather bad words from several other posts and form your own. But they're usually easily caught out.

We are all capable of making our own minds up.

I'm also a complete stranger to Scott's work and DVDs but I had a swift look at the postings and it seems typical of those who misuse the facility of open forums and 'free speech'. Honest criticism and offering the opinion that someone isn't the greatest magician in the world is OK - personal attacks are right out of order. Sadly, some folks can't differentiate between the two concepts and BeerForDolphins's comments about the larger forums is spot on.

It all makes me wonder what happened to good manners and whether those guys would say the same thing if Scott were standing right in front of them?

Gentlemen (and I mean that sincerely),

First let me say that I truly appreciate your kind words. The fact that there are people on the other side of the world who don't know me yet would lend me encouragement and support boggles my mind. Thank you.

Second, I bear no one any ill will whatsoever if they haven't yet or choose never to buy my products. I think the world of Tommy Wonder and have his books, but I haven't yet bought his DVDs. The same for many others. If you are someone who is into collecting or learning new, advanced, difficult moves, you would be better served to steer clear of my stuff--you would be disappointed with your purchase.

A wise man once wrote "Know thyself." Another put the same sentiment another way, "A man's got to know his limitations." I have hands that are arthritic and inflexible due to mutiple injuries (sprains, breaks, stabs and being crushed in a freight elevator). I cannot even touch my thumbs to my pinkies to make the classic "3" or Boy Scout salute. Much advanced sleight of hand is simply not within my reach physically, regardless of how long I practice. But I know strong material. I know what will "play," and I am good (maybe not great, but good) at routine construction and presentation. That's what you'll find on my DVD and in my books: material that is well constructed and relatively easy to do with an emphasis on presentation in real-world performance. Some will really like that, while others won't be impressed.

I have no problem with people criticizing my products, particularly when they give a reason. But I'll be honest, it does raise my hackles when some 16 year old kid who has never done a show and doesn't even own nor has ever seen the item starts bashing me personally. As Mandrake asks, would they say the same thing if I were standing right in front of them? If the answer is yes, can respect that, but somehoow I think that in most cases, that wouldn't be the case, and not because I am 6'2" and 220 pounds!

At any rate, I did respond a few times in that thread. I tried my level best to remain civil and stay to the issues. I contemplated my decision for some time. If I respond, I'm a defensive prima donna. If I don't respond, the allegations must be true, or I would have refuted them. As I said in that forum, in the nd, people are going to think of me what they will, and I likely can't do anything to change their minds. But I try to be a good man first, and sometimes, IMO, being a good man means speaking out. I can live with myself at the end of the day, despite what others may think of me.

Sorry to ramble on so--I gues I just needed to vent a bit. You have all been exceptionally kind to me, and I truly appreciate it.