People go through different ways of creating original magic, and I know that I've created in many different ways. In the back of my mind I always knew that if I create the effect first, and then work out a method, the magic can be more powerful. However, this was recently brought to my attention again, and I realized how much magic I've created where the method came first.

When you create your magic, do you think of the effect or method first? Which do you think creates better magic?

And three things that always bothered me:
1) How come Donald Duck doesn't wear pants, but after he showers he puts a towel around his waist?
2) Why is an alarm clock going “off” when it actually turns on?
3) At a movie theater, which arm rest is yours?

Thanks,

Jeff Prace

Hey Jeff,
Good magic can come from anywhere. Even Oklahoma. It can begin with method, it can begin with effect, and it can even begin with other starting points. I've created tricks from a joke I've come up with, a presentational ploy, a visual aesthetic I like, or even a particular way I wanted to stand. So just to be clear, I didn't have an effect, a method, a presentation, or even an idea of what props I was going to be using, but I DID know how I wanted to stand! And I developed the trick from there. (Man, just reading that back sounds ridiculous.) But there are FAR more starting points than just effect or method. Exploring them can produce intriguing results.

Now to the important questions:

1) This comes down a secret Donald has been keeping from us for decades. The word “Duck” denotes a female. A male is called a “Drake.” So “Donald the Duck” is clearly a gender-confused bird. Walking around with no pants is fine because (s)he is dry. But the towel-wearing tendencies of Donna is a poignant observation, clearly denoting that whatever bits (s)he has down there swells up when wet, embarrassing him/her enough to cover up. Kinda hot, huh?

2) Alarm clocks are always on - whether they're ringing or not - so saying they're going “on” is just as incorrect as saying they’re going “off.”

3) While we do put our arms on them, they prefer to be called “ladies.”

Tyler Wilson

Your answer to question number 1 made me laugh. out. loud. I think I woke my family up.