Eshly wrote:I honestly don't know myself, I think people dislike me because I ask a lot of questions, and I don't mean questions like "How did criss angel do that?" sort of exposure question, I mean things like "Does anyone know where I can find an effect that allows the switching of a large paper prediction?"
I don't know why, but this seems to have made me unpopular with just about everyone over 4000 posts, the younger people are much more helpful.
Tom
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I've not waded through this thread completely and was actually avoiding it for some time simply because I'm one of those that's been around a long while who's become rather fed-up with the constant barrage of questions, most of which get the same answer READ! or more specifically STUDY!
Do understand Tom, I'm not picking on you when I say these things, nor do I (nor any of the others I've seen post on this issue) mean anything overtly harsh towards you specifically. It's just that we hear so many newbies ask the same basic questions (without doing a thread search first) and the majority are simply too lazy to do the foot work.
I have had to fight in order learn much over the years because of certain learning disorders I was literally born with as well as certain disadvantages like having parents that never went past the 8th grade with their education. Though it took me an extra decade of life to do so, I slowly managed to overcome a huge amount of those limitations, teaching myself ways to compensate as well as take my time. For an example, I may have to re-read certain bits of information five or six times before I fully understand it. This is especially true when it comes to material that's instructional in that it's very hard for me to translate technical information to a visual mode in order to visualize what's being said and therefore comprehend what it is saying. For years the only way I could actually learn magic was to sit down with a mentor with book in hand in order to gain clarification. But I was fortunate enough to have such people in my life in those days, sometimes they were even people within my age group.
But having faced those challenges then and even today to some extent, is one of the biggest reasons I get short with newbies... it's a kind of
"if I can do you so can you" thing, I guess. But too, there is the fact that most all of my key influences in life were short-tempered males that were tough as nails when it came to making you learn (and earn) things.
Now when you state that you are an amazing "illusion designer" I have to question you on that point given that I have been part of an award winning illusion design team more than a few times. I will also point out that even Jim Stinemeyer retains a day job because there's not that much money to be made in prop development.
But you also need to understand the terminology a bit better on this point in that there is a HUGE difference between tricks and Illusions (though you Brits and such have managed to blur the lines in recent years). But in the pro world an "Illusion" is typically something akin to the Sawing in Half or the Asrah Levitation, not pulling bunnies from hats or causing Aces to Assemble on command. While technically these smaller effects are an "Illusion" they have (for generations) been referred to as tricks so as to segregate the two classes. But then there is another category tied to stage magic that's all but vanished since the late 1970s -- the term ILLUSIONETTE, which was used to describe things like a Head Chopper or any one of the smaller illusion type systems such as making the head vanish once daggers or arrows are pushing into the box covering it, etc. They were a class of effect quite popular in the post war years in that they were practical to troop and easy to use in the Night Club market, which was quite big in those days.
The point is, coming up with an idea for an effect and making that effect viable are two different things and when it comes to stage illusions (a.k.a. grand illusion) the headaches seem endless even when you know about the many (MANY) bits & pieces of technology that go into creating such things and that's before you start dealing with the finer side of engineering and construction. But even your smaller "hand props" can prove such a burden, the gods know I've produced more than a few such bits of insanity over the years.
I will admit that part of this thread, the section about memory issues, actually "taught" me a thing or two about my own maladies, though I know others had similar challenges I was surprised how many younger people it affected, especially those who haven't known the number of concussions and solid noggin thumpings I've known over the years.
This forum seems to have several "special" people as members, many of whom are quite open about their challenges and limitations. I tend to push the issue at times simply to encourage others with challenges to not give up on their dreams even when things are beating you up and the gods know how badly I've been beaten down by my health in recent months, let alone some of the psychological frustrations I've had to deal with. Though I feel like tossing in the towel at times, I have found some wonderful and very supportive friends on these boards... this one especially... that tend to dust me off and get me back into focus and "out there" one more time.
So yes, you're a pesk! You have a very frustrating arrogance about yourself when it comes to people trying to help you and you slapping their hands away. Especially when they are telling you things you don't want to hear; but then most of us want to hear only consignment and praise. The thing is, pats on the back don't count if what you are doing is schlock that everyone is simply ignoring and allowing you to get away with.
My ONLY goal on most all the forums I participate in, is to help people fulfill their vision when it comes to this industry. Because I've worked within this arena for so long as a career factor it's difficult for me to understand the idea of being a hobbyist, especially when people talk about doing shows and getting paid for those shows or they keep publishing material in order to became "known" even though they have little to no working experience (and damn if we don't have a bucket or two full of that type on this and most forums).
There's nothing wrong with day dreams so long as you can turn them off and get grounded and thus, deal with the reality of it all. One of those realities, especially for someone afflicted with your particular condition, is how escapism styled arts & sciences inspire; people with autism, ADD/ADHD, Dyslexia, etc. all seem to excel when it comes to general functioning and understanding of things like magic, puppetry, even juggling and mime -- we just have a penchant for it because we see things differently. But part of that attraction centers on the psychological benefits these arts give us; the ability to do things others cannot and thus, gain praise and the sense of acceptance we tend to hunger for -- the ability to feel a bit more than "normal"
Anywho, where it has been important for you to explain yourself I feel that you need to understand why the grumpy old American Bear tends to snarl and growl so much but too, he's really well meaning and rarely bites.
