On Feb 11, 2023, ricklaxmagic wrote:

P.S., I stopped posting here years ago for the reasons described above and some other things, but now that I spend ¼ of the time in magic that I used to, it’s a bit easier for me.
P.P.S., I reached out to Craig and Michael because I really do believe this could be a transformative time for all of us. The industry is bigger than us all, and if we can resolve differences and put the focus back on entertaining people...that's worth some uncomfortable conversations.

On Feb 11, 2023, dirtyfoucault wrote:
I'm ashamed to say I've said horrible things about Rick on this forum in the past, despite loving and consistently using so many of his releases over the years. Tornado, Diamonds, To-Do Voodoo - he's just a brilliant creator and teacher of magic. I suppose my negativity arose from the influence of reading other posts on here. It seemed like the norm to hate on Lax, so to my shame I joined in a few times. I thought because he comes across as rich and incredibly confident that poking fun wouldn't affect him. But that's dumb. Any one of us can be afflicted by depression, anxiety and poor mental health. I know I am. Every day is a struggle and while these green pages can be an addictive source of soap opera and magical inspiration they are also a psychic drain. Rick is right. Let's take this moment as an opportunity to be less rubbish.

On Feb 11, 2023, ricklaxmagic wrote:

Quote:

On Feb 11, 2023, dirtyfoucault wrote:
I'm ashamed to say I've said horrible things about Rick on this forum in the past, despite loving and consistently using so many of his releases over the years. Tornado, Diamonds, To-Do Voodoo - he's just a brilliant creator and teacher of magic. I suppose my negativity arose from the influence of reading other posts on here. It seemed like the norm to hate on Lax, so to my shame I joined in a few times. I thought because he comes across as rich and incredibly confident that poking fun wouldn't affect him. But that's dumb. Any one of us can be afflicted by depression, anxiety and poor mental health. I know I am. Every day is a struggle and while these green pages can be an addictive source of soap opera and magical inspiration they are also a psychic drain. Rick is right. Let's take this moment as an opportunity to be less rubbish.

Thank you, dirtyfoucault. I don't always have the maturity and bravery you displayed with that post.

Yes, you've been very mean to me--to the point where I recognize the name and remember the hurtful comments (amid a sea of 1000 negative comments and commenters). And you've nailed why: We all have pain in our lives we do get a dark pleasure from putting other people down--for 'bringing them down to our level'. I'll admit, I'm rich, and sometimes feel confident. Also I'm a human with the same feelings as everyone. I'm just as capable of being hurt as anyone on this forum. And surely some of the combo...(1) lots of people being mean my whole life, perhaps because 'they thought I could take it' and 2) being a person who has feelings...contributed.

This post of yours was really, really great, and I thank you.

On Feb 12, 2023, dman11 wrote:
Also a fan of a lot of Ricks material....But Rick, think about how you hurt others by exposing magic - that's not cool.

On Feb 12, 2023, leipzisch wrote:

An absolutely brilliant, win win idea.

On Feb 12, 2023, JonHackl wrote:
At least two great positives have come out of this. One, which I hope doesn't get lost, is the discussion about ways forward for crediting processes in magic. There were suggestions made about ways forward, including some kind of onus on creators somehow to "register" their creations in some way. I don't know whether this would prove workable and effective, but it certainly merits discussion and consideration.

I have a modest release on card magic which I tried very hard to credit properly. I omitted one trick (an ACAAN), because I was informed by David (Unbiased Magic Reviews) that he's seen the method before, although he couldn't remember exactly where.

Anyway, I was terrified in the process of creating the ebook that somewhere in some dark corner something I created might have already been done before. I reached out to some other people, in addition to David, for help, but my network of magic acquaintances isn't as wide or deep as I'd like. I also spent a lot of money on things I wouldn't have been inclined to buy, just on the chance that they were using my method before me.

So, the point is, it's enormously difficult for a new creator to have the means to investigate originality or crediting thoroughly. I think this is a problem for the magic community, and certainly for new creators. The idea of a thorough crediting register of some kind is great, but again, I don't know if it would prove practical.

Another idea I had while agonising over my research and crediting is this. I would be happy to pay a subscription fee to a sort of council of knowledgeable people. You could send them something you're working on, and they could inform you where to look for things that are similar, or whether what you've got seems to be original.

I know there are guys who are very knowledgeable and also generous with their time for this kind of thing. It's a service I think many of us value enough that we'd be willing to support it financially. I know I would. And perhaps something like a subscription service would make this kind of help available to people like myself, who think and hope they are producing new and worthwhile things, but don't have the decades of knowledge and/or the right connections to get the kind of certainty they would like.

The second thing coming out of this thread that is great is the recent flow of posts advocating reconciliation and restoration. Not least among these are Rick's excellent contributions. I sincerely hope that this thread does not end up deleted. I can certainly see how a few individual posts have crossed lines and might need to be removed, but this thread as a whole has turned out to be valuable and worth preserving. (I hope I'm not speaking too soon...)

On Feb 12, 2023, JDobbs wrote:

Why not pay the $300 per year it cost to have complete access to all online archive available from Conjuring Arts. Especially, for those who are full-time creators. Don’t think you need to really recreate this in any means just for someone to charge you a lot of money. Also, you are correct, creators should be aware that if they want their product created then they need to ensure their work is published to the community at large and not limited to a few with strict agreement they cannot share or disclose it at all.

On Feb 12, 2023, Iforindia123 wrote:
It is indeed a great idea for a knowledgeable council but there is a need for those that control it to be vetted.

On Feb 11, 2023, equivoque wrote:
You Probably already read this 25 pages ago but:
As far as I know, the effect that started this and many other effects was "Lie Speller" By Martin Gardner in "Here's New Magic" published in 1937. I think that "Menu Pause' in "Thabbatical" By Phil Golstein, published in 1994, was based on Gradner's effect. Phil/Max credits Gardner and others. I think that the first time receipts were used was in "Matrix Receipts" published in the August 2012 "Genii" magazine and Maven, Fulves and Gardner are credited. I should mention that at some point in time Lee Earle put out "Szechuan Sampler." It used menus and it seemed offensive to me.. I do not see any crediting but I may be wrong.


There are probably many more effects that come with Craig's product and I only saw one, but the presentation is very different from those listed above.

I hope that this thing comes to an amicable conclusion soon. It was probably resolved 10 pages ago!

On Feb 11, 2023, jhostler wrote:

I fail to see the point of this Duchamp story. There is no contextual equivalence. Here, now, in the early 21st century, a well-known magician (or magicians) used a fake online account to praise their own products (and themselves) and attack others in the industry. At least one member of this "alliance" has done so for nearly two decades. So this was neither a "mistake" nor a fleeting lapse of judgement, nor - as in Duchamp's case - any sort of artistic statement.