The effect proposed should at least have more work behind it. Just saying "how about this" doesn't help.

Example: "How about a signed card ends up inside the belly of a shark caught off shore Florida".

It's not going to happen. That's all I'm saying.

Is the shark a stooge?

The shark is me, dressed up as a shark, they look back at where I was and a shark is standing there in a shirt and trousers.

They look back at you and you are a lifeguard, saving them because they are in the middle of the sea about to be attacked by a shark.

The difference is that while the shark idea is about as plausible as Andy's idea, Andy's idea is ironic and 'inspired'.

I want to know why you can't do the shark thing? Surely we can all think of methods to do this? The hardest part would be actually catching the shark, and getting the audience to wait that long for the end of the trick!!

I think any idea - however crazy and impractical - can be very useful in sparking the creative process.

If you aimn for the stars, you might reach the moon - if you aim for the basement, you'll probably get there!

If you aim for the stars, but have no working plan, you drift out into space endlessly.

That sounds like the plot for Star Trek!

I just have to say it now....
"Beam me up, Scotty."

I don't mean that simply aiming for something will get you there. What I was saying is that when you aim for the stars, you look at various methods to get there, analyse them all, research, investigate etc. During all this research and investigation it is possible that you will stumble on other more practical things (EG Velcro was invented during research for the space program).

If you only aim for the basement then you won't stretch your imagination, you won't be forced to do research into unknown areas and you probably wont discover anything new at all.

This is starting to get confusing. I mean ... where do I aim if I want to appear on the other side of the basement window?

Sid

That's easy, you need to aim for that little Café on the river in Paris, you know the one with the fresh bread on the racks out front? Aim for that and you should at least get to the other side of the basement window.
If that doesn't work, then ask Andy how you get there!!

(confused - so am I!)

To appear on the other side of the basement window you must first have a window on your basement which does not look at soil.

Assuming your basement is underground. Mine is above the roof. I have three stories but live in a bungalow, a bungalow is classified by having no stairs, I have only poles in my house, it's hard to get up but it's very theft proof.

Ok, back to the big card --> you on other side of window.

Dig this: (hopefully it shows up well)

(wall) (wall)
===== =======|
(you) (spec)|(window)
|

You're along a wall with the doorway in it, with the spectator(s) in a corner. (one side a wall, the other the window) When the spectator turns to look at the window, you grab the folded up huge card from the other side of the wall, (or your jacket?!) and unfold it, leaning against the wall me thinks. You dash behind the wall! Then when they've looked back, you stand behind the window!! Tada! Thinking outside the... window.

--Diavo

Darn, the ASCII pic didn't space well. Basically between (wall) and (wall) there is a bigger space [the doorway], and you stand next to that. The equal signs are the walls, the pipes: | are the window, which didn't line up.

You could do this if you had a twin.

lol, wow -- that's a great idea.

Too easy though... assuming you had one.

You could load the card into the shark with a billet knife....

Have a patter about unscrupulous cardmen in the 1950s who hid the winning card in all manner of places - their inspiration being the card shark that you are now opening...

I'll get my coat

You could tell the spectator to look into the water because their card is underneath. When they do, the shark jumps up and chomps their head. Just before they pass away to the afterlife beyond the stars, they see their card in the sharks throat, and since it's close to their face, it appears to be large. See, all things connected. Whoops, I forgot about the window part. Nevermind.

Do you take the car?

Amos McCormick