On Jan 7, 2016, Sam Griffin wrote:
Aus,

Which Dealer is your local? I also live in Australia, N.S.W. - I'm Loyal to Hocus-Pocus. Why? Cause I don't think there is any shops around me. I live in Sydney.
You know of any?

Thanks man.

On Jan 14, 2016, MaxfieldsMagic wrote:
The "wish list" button on most magic sites is your friend. If there's something you really want, dump it into your wish list for a while and let it marinade in your mind. Once you have more info and you've slept on it a few times, sometimes you'll decide you want it after all, but other times you'll come back to it later and say "nah!" or even "why did I click on that?"

On Feb 16, 2016, magicsachin wrote:
These days there any are many dedicated Websites & Youtube reviewers for all new Magic Tricks coming out to market....Keep checking the Honest reviews before taking any decision...Always stay away from knock-offs....Support the Original creators...

On Jan 30, 2016, ColtonRaelund wrote:
My advice is this: HASTE MAKES WASTE! So, you must make haste SLOWLY! (I got that from Dick Oslund )

On Jan 6, 2016, Dick Oslund wrote:
Dear friend Aus!

I offer my praise, and, thanks for your post. You have over the past several years provided some very worthwhile suggestions,information,and, even encouragement to the people who come to the Café for such "nourishment". It is apparent to me that you have done a lot of thinking before you write!

Here comes the "but", and, I have no desire to start a battle of minds when I say this, because your good intent is also quite apparent to me.

My professors, especially, "them that teached" philosophy, invariably reminded me to DEFINE TERMS, before a discussion. I, too, have done my "homework". I have read, no, STUDIED, Fitzkee, Maskelynne & Devant, Nelms, Tarbell, Ken Weber, et al. I'm 84, and, I've studied magic since I was about 9. I began performing, for money, when I was 13, as a part time professional, and, am/was a full time successful professional performer since my 30s. I toured the USA, coast to coast and border to border, until I retired at 76.

I just published, at Jon Racherbaumer's insistence, an autobiography, which includes, not only "my story", but also "hundreds" of anecdotes of things that happened "on the road", so that readers might realize what "really happens" when one performs for real people! Also, included were complete routines that I developed and used successfully all those years, so that new or young magician "wannabees" might realize that it's not necessary to present the "latest and greatest" tricks. A majority of my repertoire originated from reading Tarbell! (Naturally, I updated the "patter"!!!!! and style of presentation!!!!!)

Therefore, I submit that I can speak with some ability when I define some terms which, I hope, will help to clarify some of your statements.

I have lectured for Rings, Assemblies, Regional and National Conventions, even twice at the Castle, since the '60s, and, have had return bookings at many of those events. For many of those lectures, I began with a definition of terms, like "magic", "trick", "prop", "effect", etc.

When I "came into" the magic Café, Michael BAKER welcomed me, and, wrote that he had "experienced" my lecture in Birmingham, AL, when he was a teenager. He told me that, that lecture had "changed my thinking about magic"! (I had defined some terms!)

I have written what I'm about to write, many times, in posts.

So! "Magic" exists only in a spectator's mind. One cannot buy "magic".

One cannot buy a "trick" either. One cannot buy an "effect". One can buy a "prop" or a "secret (in a book or dvd).

A trick, like music, exists while it is being performed. When one stops dragging the rosined horsehair over the catgut, the music stops!

An "effect" is what the spectator sees, or THINKS he sees". An effect is subjective. No two people in the theater will see exactly the same effect. They will ee according to their own imagination, intelligence, and experience.

A magic trick is "5% sensory illusion, 5% esoteric science principles, 5% sleight of hand techniques, AND EIGHTY FIVE PERCENT P S Y C H O L O G Y! (I'm a rather poor mathematician!)

A qualified "performer of magic" (a magician) using his personality, lots of psychology (!) and a good presentation, can, using a prop or secret, perform a trick.

If he keeps his presentation SIMPLE, so that his performance is relatively easy for him to do, and easy for the spectator to understand what he has experienced, the magic will happen, in the mind, of the spectator.

If he makes his presentation FUN, it is likely that the spectator will be entertained.

MAGIC IS NOT INHERENTLY ENTERTAINING! (Dr. A. M. WILSON, editor of the "SPHINX" magazine was WRONG, when he wrote: "Magic is an art that sometimes instructs, often amuses, but always entertains.")

Anyone who has been "around", and seen a few magic shows, will agree with THAT statement!

The acronym "KIS MIF" (Keep It SIMPLE Make It FUN has guided my life in magic.

So, if you would be willing to re-define your terms, I could ENDORSE your essay!

I hope that I haven't upset you with these comments! I congratulate you for taking the time to express your thoughts!

Dick Oslund
Sneaky, underhanded, devious and surreptitious itinerant mountebank --and, soon to be certified as a qualified quacksalver!

On Jan 7, 2016, Aus wrote:
Dick

I concede my terminology is loose and in hindsight I should have double checked it more thoroughly then I did, unfortunately since people have already posted a reply the time frame for editing has passed unless a grammar host is willing to make the necessary edits for me which I would appreciate. Alternatively I could get the topic deleted and re-post the thread again.

Magically

Aus

On Jan 30, 2016, ColtonRaelund wrote:
My advice is this: HASTE MAKES WASTE! So, you must make haste SLOWLY! (I got that from Dick Oslund )

On Feb 5, 2016, pmarzionna wrote:
Some really great tips in this topic!

One thing that has worked for me recently is to create a buying list, basically an excel spreadsheet with the products, suppliers, and prices of the products that I want to buy in the near future. What I do, whenever I want to buy something, is to look at the buying list, and check if the item is already there or not. If it's not, I simply don't buy it - although I might add it in the list for a future "buying round". This procedure has saved me from making impulse purchases, and has helped me prioritize effects, props and books that I really need/want.