talkmagic.co.uk

go on then, we often talk about what magic we love; but what fills you with absolute dread or anger if anything - and why?

for me, i cant really get into stage illusions, or the quick change costume stuff...it's all quite shiny and clever, but well...after that, im left with a kinda empty feeling...

the only exception for me was Simon Drake for the illusions...

1. Recently, anything which involves cans and coins
2. Anything which uses props bigger than a coffin
3. XCM (That's 'e(x)treme card masturbation', in case you didn't know)
4. Anything on stage which uses animals
5. Linking rings
6. Dove productions
7. Magic and mentalism which relies transparently on arithmetics

and... on unrelated notes, but current 'hates' in the industry...

8. Newbies and wannabe's criticising tricks or effects they've never performed, learned or owned
9. Piracy
10. Laziness amongst magicians
11. People calling themselves magicians
12. People who wax lyrical about magic and magicians, but who's entire knowledge of magic is from spontaneous Google searches
13. Soapbox magic theorists, who have plenty to say but can't substantiate it

That's about it for now.

Sponge balls!

Why!!!

I hate all the gorey magic, sticking needles through arms and sawing off heads, that kind of thing.

It's got it's place but I just don't like it personally.

Everything else can be fun to play with, I used to dislike rope magic until I started playing with it the other day. Now I'm having great fun with it. I guess on thing I'm quickly learning about magic is don't knock it until you've tried it.

Oh Andy, spongeballs are great fun. I had my boyfriend in fits of laughter when I showed him my spongeballs performed to Swanlake the other day.

so siege, you wouldnt be interested in a body to coffin transpo then?

i'd also add maybe people moaning about the price of magic, without considering you're paying for the person's inventiveness, time, efforts, testing and so on...

Oh Andy, spongeballs are great fun. I had my boyfriend in fits of laughter when I showed him my spongeballs performed to Swanlake the other day.

I suppose it depends on your approach to magic, and what you are trying to achieve. I just can't think of a relevant reason why anyone would have sponge balls on their person (that doesn't sound how I meant it too!). What is the reason for them, why would you make sponge balls appear and disappear, as opposed to making money appear at your fingertips. And doesn't an intelligent audience assume that you are using sponge balls because of their obvious properties...they can be squashed smaller. Why else would you be using them?
I suppose they would have more scope in a comedy routine, but in this case I feel that you would be presenting a comedy routine rather than a magic one.

Cheap quality magic sets foisted on kids by unknowing parents/grandparents where the contents are worth about one tenth of the buying price and they always, always, always include those awful 'age telling' cards where you have to add up the numbers in the corner, and usually include a trick relying on the 'little known fact' (yeah, right!!) about the sum of opposite sides of a die.

Andy...

Watching a well-timed spongeball routine is a magical moment indeed.

Unfortunately, though, like many sub-genres of magic, spongeball stuff has become a forgotten area...

I'd love to see a trendy resurfacing of sponge stuff.

All aspects of magic have their place, otherwise people wouldn't be using them.

I'm putting together a standup act and a couple of minutes of spongeballs to Swanlake is my opener. It's a great opener, funny which serves to relax people from the start before building up to your more serious stuff.

Sponges fit with my personallity and approach beautifully, I guess it all depends on how you present your routine. Saw for example really wouldn't suit me and would just look out of place, where it might be brilliant for you.

I think it's good to just try things that you might not really like. When I started out, I wanted to get into mentalism. But tried a few cards and really enjoyed doing close up card routines. I didn't like rope or sponges a month ago, I bought a set of sponge balls about a year ago and they'd not been out of my drawer since. But I thought, lets give this a go and see what it's all about. Brilliant! Really enjoyed it. I'd never even thought about putting together a stand up routine before playing with ropes and sponges.

i've often wondered if anyone has done any word appearing type sponge ball effects...just writing them on some red spongeballs in black ink...

using certain swear words suddenly appearing or changing might be quite amusing to watch...well, to me it would anyway...changing "fornication" down to ahem alternatives and so forth...might be fun...

i like the bloodier side of magic if its delivered well, all in a sinister story telling fashion...

abraxus wrote:i like the bloodier side of magic if its delivered well, all in a sinister story telling fashion...

Full circle, back to Simon Drake

seige wrote:1. Recently, anything which involves cans and coins

Funny. When I first saw Sinful, I thought it was a great piece of impromptu magic.

But since then it's become to young magicians what Stairway to Heaven or Sweet Child of Mine is to bedroom guitarists. And while I know that the vast majority of laypersons has never seen it, the appeal is greatly lacking for me these days.

But for my list:

Any kids' magic that involves pictures on flash cards (I just can't get excited about them).

Silent magic done to music.

Card tricks done to show off technique rather than create magic (the equivalent of widdly heavy metal guitar solos in my opinion).

Sucker tricks that turn against the audience and make the magician look like a smug b*st*rd.

Other than that I'll give anything a chance.

Watching a well-timed spongeball routine is a magical moment indeed.

You could argue that I'm failing to see it from a laymans point of view, though i am still failing to see a 'why' to it all. I just can't imagine a magician on TV doing a sponge ball routine having anywhere near the impact on audiences as, say, derren brown in seance, or uri gellar (love him or hate him), or david blaine when he first hit our screens (o.k he used a sponge ball trick, in one show but that was to children).
I'll stop here, so I don't hijack the thread. I'm sure there are plenty other things that other people dislike...like some cheesy permatanned magician appearing from an apparently empty box (basically performers who don't realise audiences have moved on during the last century...and left them behind). O.k. I'll stop now...but the thread is entitled HATE!!!

nah...keep it coming, its good to vent spleen every once in a while...good for the soul and blood pressure...

i really hate any patter from a magician wheres its just soooooo over enunciated and cheesey, my imaginary shotgun goes off as soon as i hear any...

and yeah, i agree - any effect where you make a fool of a spectator is just plain wrong, fair enough if he's playing up and being rude and disruptive - but otherwise...noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

not keen on rope magic, but not seen any in ages...and i really dont like that slo-mo shot from the real hustle where they've slowed it down too much and you can see mr. wilson's card change...

Any magic that uses dance routines and overly dramatic movements just make me cringe.
Snobbish behaviour from more experienced magicians towards enthusiastic relative newcomers.....not aimed at anyone in particular. People new to magic will make faux pas