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After my disappointment at the fact that I can't do "Needles" http://talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic16865.php&highlight=needles, I decided to try using the concept for something else. It's somewhat influenced by Penn and Teller's style and Derren Brown's "Smoke".


I talk about how jugglers seem more credible as entertainerrs since what they do is explicitly difficult. I say that to be at my best (emphasizing "my best") I usually have to have something besides (the technical part of) magic on my mind while performing. To demonstrate mental juggling, I pull out five relatively small nails (about the length of a needle, but much thicker) and have them inspected. While the nails are being inspected, I start my patter.

The patter needs improvement and I'm constantly niggling at it. It's one big (emphasize big) lie, but I feel it sets the tone I want.

"I heard a while ago [this is to be ambiguous as far as the source goes, it is, after all, a Bullsh*t story] that there was a boy in Kansas who... Well, let me take a step back. There was a carpenter whose wife died recently. They had an only son who was just a few years old when she died. The father had to work all the time just to support the son. He would always be working on the roofs while the son sat below, watching. One day, when the kid was at that age, you know, when he admired his father entirely, he noticed something. He noticed that his father always had nails protruding from his mouth like a cigarette. He thought that was the coolest thing in the world. He adopted that habit.

One day, the father wanted to teach his kid a thing or two about roofing. He called the son, who was hanging around below the unfinished building. The kid looked up [I tilt head up while saying this]; the nails slipped down his throat; and he died. I guess I kinda digressed, but, you know, this is something I have to keep in mind [I gesture towards the nails as I put them in my mouth, sticking out slightly]."

I improvise usually depending on the who, where, and why of the situation. Usually after the nails are placed in my mouth, I stay verbally mute.
A card is selected and shown around, then returned to the deck. I adopt a look of concentration as I slowly snap my fingers. The top card is turned over. An apparent failure. The bottom card it shown, but to no avail. I spread through the cards looking for their cards (I tilt my head up slowly while spreading out the cards) when I make the [fatal?] mistake of tilting my head back. The nails fall into my mouth. I do the usual cough/distress histrionics before slowly pulling out a rolled up [rolled up like a cigarette] card (from my mouth) that is the card they selected.

Aside from the long patter, I think it's a good routine, but who am I to judge?

All comments/criticisms appreciated. I'll update the description accordingly.

MajorEdit1: I like the idea of having a nail poked through the rolled up card; I'll try that.

sounds like a cool routine but i don't see any connection between the story and the card trick, could you have 1 or more nails penetrate the rolled up card? or spit them out of the card peashooter style?