Electric Touch Cheap Version

On the whole I am against cheap versions of effects that come out simply as an opportunity for someone of lower quality to make some money by undercutting the big guy, but here is a slightly different look at things: Electric Touch.

I have never tried Electric Touch by Yigal Mesika and I have no idea exactly the types of things you can do with it. But I recently came upon a neat DIY site that I had seen a year or two ago based on stuff you can buy for a few dollars and build yourself.

Check out the site for ElectriFried, where the creator (while crediting Pikashoes) explains how to make a simple, handheld shocking device.

As I said, I have never purchased ET by YM, so don't know the method, but for the price of less than $10 and a few minutes of your time, having a homemade shocker can save you over $200 and give you a bit of fun, as well as the joy of creating something yourself.

That being said, even if you have Electric Touch, you can check out the magic related ideas that Mystician has on the ElectriFried site which might give you some knew ideas on how use your Jedi powers.

Of course if you really enjoy working with it, then using ET can add a new level of professionalism.

All About Hellstromism

While perhaps not an encyclopedia of the phenomenon known as Hellstromism (among other things), here is some information for those who might want it.

Axel Hellstrom - Did so well with this skill that it is now sometimes known as Hellstromism. [Wikipedia] [Answers.Com]
Robert Alan Nelson (16 Nov. 1901- 21 Feb. 1973) - Prolific mentalist, apparently learned from Axel Hellstrom. [GeniiMagazine] [Trickshop.com]

I'm currently reading a book by Erik Hanussen. This book has an introduction by Banachek, and Banacheck also has a video and book on Hellstromism. An incredible biography can be found here, though taken from a book by Paul Tabori.

Hanussen: Hitler's Jewish Clairvoyant
Tabori, Paul. Companions of the Unseen. London:H.A. Humphrey Ltd., 1968

Magic Article from Paly Voice: Chris Wycoff

Its definitely been a while, but here is an interesting article on how much work it takes to be a magician. Not David Blaine or Kris Angel stuff, but it sounds like the guy has a lot of dedication to this art, and focuses on the performance aspect, which is really what a magician should be doing:

http://voice.paly.net/view_story.php?id=5973

My favourite quote has got to be:
"He is currently working on multiple projects that primarily focus on money appearing in different kinds of fruit."

It sounds like something I'd like to use in a tag line :)

So he comes out and admits that he prefers magic as a hobby, but perhaps with his focus on performance he can still be better than 90% of the hobby magicians out there.

Back to Basics

I just spent a crazy weekend on the East coast of Canada, and didn't even have enough time to find any good magic stores or Magicians. However, since Monday was my birthday, I did manage to spend quite a bit of money at my local magic store, and maybe, just maybe... I'll start practicing them more in depth. I did learn a few from two great books I bought, and I did purchase two package effects which I have started practicing, so hopefully I can keep them up and find a place (and the guts) to perform them at.

I intend to put together a small review on "Wise Guy - Harry Anderson"... just a phenomenal book.

Hereditary Magic

Here are two personal stories about how magic may be a part of your life more than you realize. I never expected that my own family members already knew magic tricks of their own. I came to realize that most people may remember someone in their family performing tricks of some kind, be they "parlour tricks" or "bar tricks" and they may even have learned a few on their own.

In June I was visiting my aunt and uncle and was telling them my interest in magic when Uncle Bob tells me his specialty is Cup and Balls. Now I've been spending a lot of time with card tricks and mentalism, so I hadn't yet tried my hand at Cup and Balls and wasn't sure what the routine was. So there in the living room Uncle Bob did his Cup and Ball routine and I was very impressed. I caught on with some tips from him, and I later went home and a few days later I practiced it over and over one day while my girlfriend was asleep. So thanks to Uncle Bob, I can know perform "Uncle Bob's Cup and Ball Routine" if I ever need to :) One of the staples of magic that perhaps every magician should know how to perform even if they don't use it in their routine.

A few weeks later I had the opportunity to visit with my parents and 13 year old nephew when they came down on vacation and I was able to share with them for the first time my interest in performing magic. One day while talking my father asked me if I remembered "The Two Little Dickie Birds". I admitted it didn't come to mind immediately, but later at a dinner table at a Swiss Chalet he started to perform the Two Little Dickie Birds and as soon as he started the first line of the poem "Two Little Dickie Birds sitting on a wall..." I asked him immediately if one was named Peter and the named Paul... and I was right! Turns out my dad had shown this trick to us when we were very young, and I remembered the poem but not the trick. He learned it from his older brother Clare, who probably learned it from his maternal grandfather.

It it was quite a suprise, I never expected my own family to know magic tricks! Our waitress walked past as he was about to start and she said, "Two Little Dickie Birds right?" I remember that from when I was a kid." After that, he proceeded to show me a "bar trick" with a cigarette that he learned from my mother's grandfather. I remember seeing it before but had totally forgotten about it. I remember Great-Grandfather "Grinn" but don't remember a lot about him as he died when I was relatively young, but I felt like knowing this part of brings him a bit more into view. My mother also showed my a card manipulation she had learned from him, and I even picked up a tip on false shuffling from my nephew!

So magic seems to run in the family. Does it run in yours?

Today is a magical day.

Yes, today magic was in the air.

Lately I have been reading "The Tao of Physics" by Fritjof Capra which talks about the parallels between Eastern Mysticism (such as Buddhism, Taoism and Hinduism) and quantum theory. Both schools of thought point to idea that the ultimate nature of reality is one not of infinitely small pieces, but of an indivisable whole. Everything in the universe is connected in some way. It discusses things like space-time as well as the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle which a lot of people (especially those trying to connect energy healing to quantum theory) have only a partial understanding of. As an example, most people might say that the Uncertainty Principle says that you can know the position of a particle but not its momentum, or vice versa. What part of the principle actually states, is that you can't know the position of the particle precisely and know its momentum which any decree of certainty. Everything in the quantum world is described in probabilites, and there is an amount of uncertainty whenever the two quantities are measured. If you are certain about one, you are uncertain about the other, or you can be equally uncertain about both of them.

However, the point is today was magical. While at the dentist, my dental assistant stated that health problems don't have a single cause... that many things working together cause illness. This is what I had recently thought up and exactly what Capra writes about when he discusses causality... the "laws" of cause and effect.

Capra also touches on the concept of unity of all things as he discusses polar opposites. As embodied in the Chinese t'ai chi symbol (called the Yin/Yang symbol), many aspects we see as being opposites or contradictory are actually polar opposites. They are not separate entities, but complementary aspects of the same whole. Within duality there is Unity.

Today after my dentist appointment I went into the office of a natural healer that had recently moved into the building and talked with for a few minutes. Among the various symbols on the wall was something I thought was a type of mandala, but when I asked him he said it was the Aztec symbol of the Cosmic Butterfly... which represents the same thing as the Yin/Yang symbol.

Later in the day I was on my way to an appointment where we ended up discussing what energy is and is it really the same thing as discussed in energy healing circles. While a great conversation, nothing concrete developed but we did decide on a base that could be built on. Before I walked a few blocks to the appointment I noticed the sky and while it wasn't very dark, I had the impression that it would rain on my way back. I considered getting my car, but changed my mind since it was short walk and a nice day all things considered.

Yep, when I came out of the appointment it had just begun to rain. I felt such a rush after the conversation that I honestly felt like running through the rain, laughing and skipping like a child. Pretty unusual especially considering I'm fighting a cold and should be resting.

But it was definitely a magical day. When you follow your own path, your Tao, your right nature, you have more magical days. Not only are you more likely to notice them, but I honestly believe they happen more frequently.

You just "know" when you are on the right path.

---

Yesterday was also a magical day. I picked up a copy of "Magic for Dummies" after reading a lot of good reviews on The Magic Cafe. Also read up on Mark Wilson's "Complete Course on Magic" which I may pick up this week.

Skeptics: VJ Stenger talks about how energy healing cannot actually be "energy"

More 11:11 info

I was sitting at lunch with my girlfriend when I looked at the clock and the time was 12:34. Since she knows a lot of interesting and often esoteric or obscure things I asked her if she knew of anything you are supposed to do when you notice that the clock reads 12:34. She said you are supposed to make a wish, which is the same thing friends told me years ago when I had first heard of the 12:34 Phenomenon.

I then asked her if she knew anything about 11:11 and she said its called "Rabbit Ears". You are supposed to say "Rabbit Ears" and then make a wish.

A quick Google search was unable to find similar reports, but if you have heard of either 11:11 or 12:34 called something similar or know of any other beliefs about what you are suppsed to do when you notice those times, please let me know.

I am not interested in other links that explain or discuss the phenomenon though, there are almost 111,111,111 of those out there.