Ben,
Just curiouis. Do you always end your presentations of "cosmosis" with the "match jumping off the card" or do you go further than that, perhaps stripping the gaffe and then giving the card to the spectator? Just curious as I just bought the effect *your original one of course* and I think it's just great!

Hi Flip.

Good questions.

I treat every performance of Cosmosis as a "one-off" event. The card only need last that single performance. New card each time. That's my golden rule.

Why?

1/ the threads are fresh and tight.

2/ I always finish with the flip of the match at the end and then strip the threads as per the Cosmosis Pro Tips booklet.

I'm glad you like the effect.

What did you think of Mike Ammar's approach on the Easy To Master Thread Miracles video series (vol 1)?

Cheers

Ben

Hi Ben -

How about light conditions and such.. is your thread that much better than most?

I just went to your web page and checked all the demo videos out....pretty nice stuff!! Plays strong and short! I believe that lots of time that shorter tricks leave more impact than a long and nagging routine. Great stuff! Thanks for being here!

Ben,
Haven't seen Ammars handling of the effect, so how does he handle it differently than you?

I like the idea of the "one off" strategy, but I gotta get off my butt and buy some more of the gaff from you! Am finding out it's a pain to procure it yourself...

Also, what kind of background do you suggest for cosmosis? I'm meaning what kind of shirt mostly? Something with a busy pattern would be better than a plain colored shirt you think?

Hi guys,

Here are a few answers to your questions. I hope they are of help.

THREAD:

Using Ultra Elastic Thread, with the method taught in the booklet Cosmosis Pro Tips, you can make a perfect card in a minute flat.

With the right thread (and to me, that's Ultra Thread) you can make a card with the threads rendered totally invisible. Use the zebra-strip technique taught in the booklet and pull the elastic thread VERY tight. The cards I used to make for the legendary Doug Henning were pulled VERY, VERY tight.

LIGHTING:

By making the card properly (as above) any background concerns are eliminated. You want you audience looking DOWN on the effect. NOT from side on. DOWN. This way the thread is ALWAYS camouflaged against the BACK of the card.

(As a note, the effect was NEVER designed to be shown side-on. This is a bad habit culled by people from the incorrect posture displayed in the adverts of theives).

Now, I don't want to turn this into a dealer ad. IT IS NOT. But, Ultra Elastic Thread is the best product for the job. Otherwise I would not have it on the market.

To prove it and as a fun thing to do, I'll give away one of our sample thread packs to any participant in this forum. Just email me your postal address and a free sample will be airmailed to you. Then, you can see if you agree about Ultra Thread being the best for this application.

email: benharris@wowbound.com

MIKE AMMAR'S HANDLING:

Mike used it with a postcard and a piece of paper with a drawing on it. I really liked it. It was a "Loch Ness Monster" (using Lake Tahoe) presentation. I think it was called "Tahoe Tessie"

Cheers

Ben

Guys -- take Ben up on this offer. He was kind enough to send me some samples of it a while ago and I agree, it's great stuff. I'll see if I can dig up the review of it I posted at MagicTalk back then and post it here.

-Jim

I've already e-mailed Ben with my address to take advantage of his very kind offer. I can't wait to try it out! I know his thread is a little more costly than some that others are selling, but I'm guessing the sample will show me that it's probably superior....


For those who've seen Ammar's handling with the business card, was the IET invisible against a regular *white colored mostly* card? This could be killer if you could get a hold of someones card, quickly gaff it then present it to that person, giving them the card as a souvenir...

THANKS GUYS

Please note that if you have requested a FREE thread pack it will be sent out next week.

Unfortunately I cannot answer each email.

So, just relax and you'll receive a little surprise in the mail shortly.

Thanks for your intereset and I would be very happy for your feedback in due course.

Cheers

Ben Harris