Jim's Magic Effects Review - Mikame Luc-Key

The effect advertised by dealers:

Luc-Key MKE 

Excellent Precision Made Mechanism Does All the Magic!
Make a bet that gives you very bad odds, only 20% chance you'll win!  Place a dollar bill into a wooden wallet, and a spectator locks it in with a padlock.  The dollar bill remains visible through 2 holes in the wallet at all times! Show 5 keys and explain that only 1 of these keys will open the lock. They can win the dollar bill if they open the lock.  Mix the keys up and have them freely selected by 4 different people.  Each person attempts to open the lock and all fail to win the bill!  Finally the performer open the lock with the final key that was not selected!

Very High Quality!  Bill Clearly Visible!  Bills or Checks!  5 Keys!  Perform for 4 or 1 Spectators!

Price: US$60 /  Available at: Most Good Magic Dealers /   Video Demo: 

Likes:
a) Very well made and good quality prop.
b) The trick packs small but plays big!

c) Allows for audience participation. In fact up to 4 Spectators.

d) The Gimmick lock is different from others. It is not the way you open up the locking using the key or you need to switch the keys like some other versions. In fact, you can pass the wooden wallet to the last spectator to open it up! That makes the effect strong.

Dislikes:
a) The lock and key should be made a bit larger. The small keys are not very visual and sometimes hard to handle.

Presentation experience:

a)      This is a simple but clever trick. But your presentation is very important.

b)     I make this a comedy routine. I have a lot of fun with the spectators while they are up one stage. I usually play with the spectators a while before introducing a “game” with some monetary rewards at the end if they are able to open up the lock.

For who:
a) Parlour or even stage magicians, Beginners too!

b) Those who do not like big props

c) Magicians who like to include some participation in their routine.

d) Mikame’s collectors or fan club members! Ha Ha!

Not for...
a)  Those who feel $60 is way too expensive for the trick. There are other cheaper versions out there.

Ratings…

Price:  2 out of 5

Usability: 2 out of 5

Quality: 4 out of 5

Overall rating, I will give it a 3 out of 5. Recommended !

Jim's Magic Effects Review - Mikame Sucker Block Box

The effect advertised by dealers:

Sucker Block Box, Wood MKE
Mikame Craft Products from Japan are Collectors Quality! This is one of Mikame's Supreme Collector Quality Effects! Begin by showing all 4 sides of the Block Box, then a solid yellow square block. Now put the solid block inside the empty Box, and close the top and front doors. The routine can go on and on! The Block is on the left! No on the right! You decide to help out the audience and open the doors.  This will be easy they think. Open just one door at a time for even more fun & jokes.  Upon opening all 4 doors, the Block has VANISHED! You can produce the vanished Block from a top hat or below the table. 

Extremely High Quality!  Supplied Complete! Fantastic Gimmick!

Price: US$155 / Available at: Most Good Magic Dealers / Video Demo: 

Likes:
a) Very well made and good quality prop. I love this!
b) The trick packs small but plays big! Suitable for both adults and kids. Very easy to do!

c) Allows for audience participation. Very visual and can be performed for a large audience.

d) You don’t have to switch the block like some other versions. Everything is self-contained.

Dislikes:
a) The “clicking” sound from the box is not loud enough when you tilt it to proof the block is sliding from one side to the other. But this is not a major concern.

Presentation experience:

a) This is one prop that I use most often. I like it very much. Personally, I think this is the best Block Box effect there is in the market! Nothing comes close.

b) I use it in all my training session. I use this trick to show my trainees that knowledge will disappear if we do not practise or use what we had learnt over time. This is usually done at the end of my class. The block signifies the “knowledge” they had acquired after the training session. The box is their “brain”. “Knowledge” goes into their “brain”. I will tell them that many of them will assume what they had learnt (knowledge) will remain in their “brain” for a long time. Is that so? I asked. I start to slide the box, opening a door at a time to proof that the “knowledge” is there but yet not there (this will usually bring in a lot of laughter).  And finally all doors are open and proof to them that the “knowledge” is really gone if they don’t use it! Very visual and they will remember the message!

c) Do be careful when you show the gimmick block to the audience. Especially when you take it out from the box. If you are not careful, the gimmick will be revealed. One more thing, try not to flash the side with the plastic sheet to the audience. They will wonder why that side is different from the rest. This is tricky if especially if you have light reflecting from it!

For who:
a) Parlour or even stage magicians. Beginners too!

b) Those who do not like big props

c) Magicians who like to include some participation in their routine.

d) Mikame’s fan club members! Ha Ha!

Not for...
a)  Those who feel $155 is way too expensive for the trick.

Ratings…

Price:  2 out of 5

Usability: 5 out of 5

Quality: 4 out of 5

Overall rating, I will give it a 5 out of 5. Highly Recommended!

Jim's Magic Effects Review - The Lemon Game

After much thought and research. I finally decided to get this!

Is it worth the investment, you may ask…..well, read on to find out more.

The effect Marketed by dealers:

Here’s ten minutes of solid audience-participation entertainment that fits in a briefcase!

A bill is borrowed from a member of the audience and signed across the face. Place it inside a small drawstring money bag, which the spectator holds in full view.  Now it’s time to play our game!! Bring out a stack of giant laminated ‘valuable gift cards’ worth over-a sports car, $10,000.00, a London vacation, plus others. The spectator randomly picks one of the cards, face down.  Ask him to open the bag with his money. He does. The money is gone!

Now ask him to turn over his prize card to see what he’s won-it's a picture of a lemon! I know what you’re thinking, ‘this trick sucks!’. Reach into your case and bring out a bag of lemons. The spectator freely selects one of the lemons. Slice open the lemon and inside is the spectator's $50 dollar bill with his signature across its face!

The Lemon Game comes directly from Doug professional act and comes complete with special briefcase to hold all the props, laminated giant prize cards, lemons, knife, drawstring bag, special gimmick, PLUS a video showing exactly how to perform the entire super routine!

Price: US$325 / Available at: Most good magic dealers / Video Demo: See my YouTube Video "live" performance

Likes:
a) Comes with a detailed instructional video with performance included. Very clear and easy to understand.

b) My kind of magic trick and routine. Very easy to do, very visual, presentation focused, audience participation with some element of comedy in the routine. You need real lemons of course, but preparation is easy to do. At the end of the routine, you can hand out the lemon for examination!

c) A logical way to introduce the lemon into the routine.

d) Everything you need is included in a nice black briefcase. You can easily add another 10 mins to your show.

Dislikes:
a) The price. Too expensive! The prop/items in the whole package do not worth that much. The briefcase is not of high quality. But I guess the price also include the idea and concept. Well, sometimes it is not the trick you pay for, but the creative idea.

b) Cannot be performed surrounded or too close to your audience. You must also watch your angles because some “dirty” biz is done behind the briefcase.

Presentation Tips:

a)      Tried out this trick at my club meeting recently. Magician’s who had never seen this performed before were really amazed especially when I hand the lemon to the audience for examination after the whole routine. All of them were puzzled and wonder how on earth did I managed to stuff the bill into the lemon. They have no idea because there isn’t a single clue on the lemon.

b)     This trick should only be performed on stage. If you want to perform it in a parlour setting, make sure that there is some distance between you and the audience. In other words, not too close!

For who:
a) Those magicians who’s looking for something easy, visual, audience participation and some comedy in your show.

b) Stage Magicians who have $325 to spare!

Not for...
a) Close-up Magicians and Beginners.

b) Those who feel $325 is way too expensive to make a bill appear in a lemon!

Ratings…

Price: 1 out of 5

Usability: : 4 out of 5

Quality: 2 out of 5

Overall rating, I will give it a  3 out of 5

(I decided to give it a 3 out of 5 mainly because of the price of the whole package, if it is cheaper, I will easily give it a 4 or 5!)

I think I will include the lemon game in my shows once I am confident in performing it well.

Yes, although it is rather easy to do, practise is very important. Once you are confident in the method, you can focus on your presentation, which I personally think is the most important thing in any routine!

Well, do you need this? You’ll be your own judge of course!

Check out my Lemon Game Performance.

Jim's Magic Effects Review - Bicycle Built for Five

This is my favourite pack card tricks!

The effect:

Imagine this (and this is as good as it looks), five bike-riding jokers are displayed, backs and fronts. (These are the standard jokers from a pack of bicycle playing cards). One joker - the leader- is put aside face-down. One by one, the remaining jokers turn over. When the faces of the cards are displayed, they are seen to bear only abandoned bicycles. Where are the missing jokers? They are found on the face of the leader card, where they've joined together in an acrobatic cycling demonstration! Complete with full instructions and specially printed cards, including an extra gag card for a different climax. Check out these great cards.

Price: US$20          
Available at: Most good magic dealers.   
Video Demo: Yes, check out JBTV

Likes:
a) Very funny and surprise ending
b) I like the funny printed cards
c) An option of two different ending for you to choose

d) Easy handling. (at least for me)

Dislikes:
a) Card quality is not too good. They are not printed on standard bicycle quality cards. So the cards may not last long. I have 3 sets at home!

b) You need to know the elmsley count to perform this trick. This is a sleight-of-hand manuever that can be done ambidextrously. It is not as hard as a 'parallel pull', but it takes much more grace and skill than a Hindu Shuffle, if that puts this sleights difficulty into perspective.

Presentation experience:

a) Always perform this trick in my table hopping and close-up projects, trust me, it really screw up their minds

b) Your presentation is very important (like all magic).

For who:
a) Cardgicians

b) Close-up magicians

c) Table-Hoppers

d) Magicians who like good packet tricks

Not for...
a) Stage magicians
b) Magicians who do not like Cards

c) Beginners of card magic

Overall rating, I will give it a 5 out of 5. Highly recommended!

Until my next review...Chow!

Jim's Magic Effects Review - Ted Amberg's Toss Point Blank

Got this package about 6 months ago....Here I go

EFFECT:
A gentleman is chosen out of the audience to participate in a card trick. A jumbo deck of cards is introduced and a card is chosen. The deck is wrapped up in a "Magic Silk Handkerchief" (toilet paper) and the magician prepares to toss a huge (and we mean huge) menacing blade at the spectator from twenty feet. Unwilling to cooperate, the roles are reversed, and the blade is now aimed at the performer (also unwilling to cooperate). After a few more funny twists and gags, the card is indeed found using the huge blade!

This gem of a comedy magic routine has been a keystone of Ted Amberg's stand-up act for years and is a definite reputation builder.

Includes Everything Required - Jumbo Gimmicked Deck, Huge Blade and Instructions

Price: S$60

Pros:
a) A good comedy routine ideal for both stage or parlour (Adult shows).
b) Audience participation required.
c) Packs flat but plays big kind of trick.
d) A very detail Instructions.
e) The Gimmick Jumbo Deck (used by DC) and the big knife are really value for money.

Cons:
a) The ending is weak. I am still trying to improve the ending.
b) Using really knife can be rather dangerous. If you are not clear in your instructions you may turn a comedy routine into something bloody.
c) Not for beginners.

Verdict:
I like this very much. I am trying to improve the ending to make the whole routine better. If you have any ideas, please let me know.

I will give it a 3 out of 5.

Jim's Magic Effects Review - Sean Taylor's Crazyman's Marked Deck

Effect:
The magician relates a story about how his Grandfather, a retired riverboat gambler, would always beat him at cards. He goes on to explain that he finally found out the old man was able to win by using a unique marking system for the cards. Removing a red deck, the magician shows that his Grandfather actually marked the cards on the front instead of the back. Peering down at the face card of the deck the magician pretends to be looking at the mark and then confidently announces the card. Shuffling the deck and looking at another face, he announces another card.

Naturally, the spectators are unimpressed. They too can easily see which card is which. The magician suggests that one of them try to name a card and is amazed to find the spectator is right on her first try. At this point, sensing the spectators are unimpressed, the magician explains that he has made what he considers to be an improvement to the system by adding a few extra marks to certain cards, and that these marks can only be sensed by certain "gifted" people. Believing the spectator who correctly named the card to have this instinct, he hands them the deck with the request that they look through the deck and just remember any card they see.

Taking back the deck, the spectator names their thought-of card and the magician retrieves it from the deck. Turning the card over it is seen to have a bold black mark depicting the number and suit of the card! Explaining that since some people have trouble seeing the mark he has taken this one card from another deck and the rest of the cards are turned over, revealing all blue backs!
Includes Special, Hand-Made Deck That Makes This Almost Self-Working and Instruction Booklet Fully Illustrated by Tony Dunn


Price US$15

Pros:
a) Easy to do, no sleight involved.
b) You can actually hand out the gimmick deck to the audience for them to select a card if you are confident enough. It works fine for me.
c) If you are looking for another brainwave effect, this may be the one.
d) Can be repeated immediately if you do table-hopping. Instant reset.

Cons:
a) The audience may find the secret if they are not careful or your instructions to them are not clear if you hand them the deck.

My verdict:
A good gimmick deck to have if you want another alternative brainwave effect.

I will give it a 3 out of 5.

Jim's Magic Effects Review - Gaeton's Intercessor Gimmick

The effect:

For more years than magicians can remember, one of the most powerful principles used in card magic has been the "torn corner principle." A card is selected, one corner is torn off and kept by the spectator, then the rest of the card is destroyed. The card is later found in any type of impossible location, inside a cigarette or lemon, for example.

(Robert-Houdin used to have the card appear locked inside of a small safe buried under a tree.) Of course, not only is the card found restored, but the torn off corner matches exactly, proving it was the selected card. All of these mind boggling miracles work on the same principle, that of the corner switch. The torn corner of the forced selected card being switched for a corner of the duplicate card, already set-up in the final location.

From now on, thanks the Gaeton's incredible Intercessor gimmick you will be able to achieve all of these effects, without switching the corner at any time! More than that, once the card has been selected the spectator may sign a corner of the card which is then ripped off and handed to the spectator. The spectator may immediately verify that his torn corner matches the card, which only then will be destroyed and found restored in an impossible location. Gaeton's gimmick eliminates the need for any false moves and allows you to immediately repeat the effect if desired!

Includes the Intercessor gimmick and 24-page fully illustrated booklet with routines and ideas from Gaeton, Juan Tamariz and Michael Weber.

Price: US$45.   Available at: Most good magic dealer              Video Demo: 

Likes:
a) Very powerful trick. Only limited by ones imagination.
b) The Gimmick Packs small but plays big! The gimmick is well made and can last a long time!
c) The booklet that comes with the gimmick has many good routines and ideas.

d) Allows for audience participation.

Dislikes:
a) The price is on the high side.

b) You tear and waste a lot of cards!

c) Tearing the card can be unnatural looking if you do not do it well.

Presentation experience:

a) Performed the routine a few times, reaction from the people I tried on is very good! Really screw up their minds.

b) The routines suggested by the booklet are very good. But you must modify it to suit you.

c) Perform a few phase routine and not a single effect, this will make the effect more amazing and do allow time to let the effect sink in gradually before you move on to the next phase of the routine.

For who:
a) Parlour or even stage magicians

b) Those who do not like big props

c) Magicians who like to include some participation in their routine.

d) Cardgicians

Not for...
a) Beginners
b) Magicians who do not like cards

c) Those who feel $45 is too expensive for a gimmick and a booklet.

Overall rating, I will give it a 4 out of 5. Recommended!

Jim's Reading List

Reading is another passion of mine. Great Books help me to continually pursue my own voice and map my own thoughts. Yes, I'm a man with many many passions. Men today just don’t read enough, but there couldn’t be a "manlier" (is there such a word?) hobby. Theodore Roosevelt was a voracious reader and so were most of the great men of history. Reading allows you to connect with the great thinkers and writers of history and exposes you to new ideas, consequently making you a more intelligent and well-rounded man (I'm a very conceptual and "yellow" kind of guy). If you have access to a library card (you should...it's your NRIC!), reading can actually be a completely free hobby. Our National Library is world class and we are very lucky here in Singapore. However, I like to purchase my books because I like to underline, pen down my thoughts and ideas onto my books as I read (yes, my books are really messed up after going thru my hands!). My collection at home is rather amazing and my wife is complaining all the time that my study is too messy! I had to re-locate some of my books to my office just to make space for new books. Imagine!

If you need some ideas on what to read, look no further, I will try to share with you some of the wonderful books I've enjoyed over the past years here....

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Marilee G. Adams found that she could generate positive changes in her behavior and productivity by changing the defensive questions that she previously asked in the face of adversity. Analysing those protective questions showed her that she took setbacks and criticism too personally. Asking different questions enabled her to reframe each moment and create growth opportunities. Adams illustrates the problem-solving power of honest curiosity. Her "QuestionThinking" method generates practical ways to change your mind, literally. These are great ideas; however, their repetition within a fictional storyline may annoy some readers, while others may like this allegorical approach to telling the tale. The self-questioning techniques are easy to employ, and will help you examine situations from different points of view, which can come in quite handy. 

Click here to check out the review of this book.

Click here for an Excerpt of this book.

Confucius tells us how to live the happy life our hearts need, or so says Yu Dan. It is a message many in China want to hear. People there are confused and angered; great gains have come but there is also corruption and vulgar displays of money everywhere. No wonder this book has sold 10m copies, though I cannot see the real Confucius in much of what she writes. The essence of his teaching was about how the individual should relate to his family, to his friends, to society and, ultimately, to the emperor. It was about people knowing their place. This book started as a series of lectures on Chinese central television. In this rather flat translation, and deprived of the body language that made Yu Dan such a lively broadcaster (she was called the "beauty scholar"), she comes across as an agony aunt, not the transmitter of a great tradition. And her prose can be breathtakingly banal.

You can't turn back the clock on your life. Change happens in the now. What I know for sure is that the discovery of all you were meant to be is continual, if you're open to seeing it.There's an insight I love that comes from a little book called As a Man Thinketh, by James Allen: We do not attract that which we want but that which we are. Not in love with your life? Create something new. Change yourself, then notice everything change." - Oprah Winfrey

Some books are so good and meaningful that you read them again and again. Primarily because you know the substance and content is so important that you need to be reminded of what it has to say. As A Man Thinketh, by James Allen is just such a book.” - Book Review, Michigan Chronicle

Click here for a pdf copy of this wonderful book

This book was a publishing phenomenon in the early 1990s, and it deserved to be. Stephen R. Covey managed to repackage an ethical and moral tradition thousands of years in development and make it meaningful to a late twentieth century, secular audience. Most of what you find in this book you will find in Aristotle, Cicero, Benedict, Tillotson and their heirs. Covey adds a few references to psychology, a twentieth century science, and many to Viktor Frankl, a sage of the Holocaust. Covey wraps the mix in a distinctively American can-do program of easy-looking steps calling, mostly, for self-discipline. The result is a quite worthwhile, useful manual for self-improvement.

Click here for a summary of this wonderful book.

In 6 Questions That Can Change Your Life, Joseph Nowinski, Ph.D., has designed a clear, easy-to-follow program based on six deceptively simple questions, carefully formulated to bring what he calls a vision, a coherent, energizing blueprint for your future that strips away years of people-pleasing and conditioning to get to the heart of the life you were really meant to live. By weaving dramatic stories about the transformative visions of world luminaries and clients from his private practice together with 40 self-tests, exercises, and charts, Dr. Nowinski demonstrates the humble might of these six questions and their power to spark a complete revolution--a quantum change--in the way you think about and approach your own life, your relationships, and your sense of purpose and place in the world. Feel for yourself the experiences Dr. Nowinski's clients cite after undergoing quantum change:

-- Put your past behind you

-- Stop conforming to the limiting expectations and opinions of others

-- Experience freedom from fear and self-doubt

-- Gain clarity and an invigorating sense of purpose

-- Seize the moment with a potent new combination of spontaneity and solid planning

Time and again, people who use the six questions to realize their quantum change are amazed at how little willpower they need to change the things they don't like about their lives. Instead of forcing themselves to "buckle down" or "get some willpower," Dr. Nowinski's clients describe the sense of being naturally pulled by the momentum and might of their own insights. In this state of effortless energy, you will make huge leaps forward without the strain and frustrating slowness of step-by-step approaches. Let 6 Questions That Can Change Your Life give you the focus, power, and vision to enact your own quantum change.

The Ownership Spirit by Dennis R Deaton has impacted the lives of thousands of people worldwide by altering their thinking about thinking itself. It awakens them to the genuine power unleashed when they assume full responsibility for their attitudes and actions. It imparts specific tools and skills in identifying ineffective mental habits that thwart growth and progress. It educates people to recognize Victim-thinking and convert it to constructive Owner-thinking. Overall, this rare learning experience equips and energizes people with the principles they need to deal successfully with the adversity, change, and challenge that modern life presents.

LEADERSHIP/ MANAGEMENT

In his nearly thirty years of teaching leadership, John Maxwell has encountered this question again and again: How do I apply leadership principles if I'm not the boss? It's a valid question that Maxwell answers in The 360 Degree Leader. You don't have to be the main leader, asserts Maxwell, to make significant impact in your organization. Good leaders are not only capable of leading their followers but are also adept at leading their superiors and their peers. Debunking myths and shedding light on the challenges, John Maxwell offers specific principles for Leading Down, Leading Up, and Leading Across. 360-Degree Leaders can lead effectively, regardless of their position in an organization. By applying Maxwell's principles, you will expand your influence and ultimately be a more valuable team member.

Click here for a summary of this book.

Stephen M.R. Covey's book provides a framework for understanding trust, and a set of guidelines for building and restoring trust. Abundant anecdotes illustrate its lessons. An impressive array of business leaders, gurus and authorities lent their names to blurbs for this book, most of them endorsing the proposition that trust is good for the bottom line of any business. It would be hard to argue with that. If the book's style reminds you of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, there's a reason. The author is the son of 7 Habits' guru Stephen R. Covey, and the same writer, Rebecca R. Merrill, was involved in both books. While this solid book may not be quite as intensely focused as 7 Habits (but then, what is?), getAbstract recommends it to readers seeking confirmation of perennial truths about the importance of trust and its application in business.

Click here for a summary of this book.

Creativity is so essential a part of management equipment that it can no longer be left to chance or to the gifted amateur. Pioneer in the use of lateral thinking, Edward de Bono shows here how he sees creativity and lateral thinking working together in the process of management to develop new products and new ideas; and to generate new approaches to problem solving, organisation and future alternatives in planning. By removing the mystique of creativity and learning to treat it as a definite process which can be learnt, practised and used with the aid of specific techniques, he demonstrates how traditional education and management methods (which focus on logical sequential methods) can be brought together to achieve astonishing results.

Jim Collins states in his book Good to Great that “almost any organization can substantially improve its stature and performance, perhaps even become great, if it conscientiously applies the framework of ideas found and used by Good to Great companies.” The book touches on the following themes, which were found throughout companies that have gone from good to great: Good is the Enemy of Great. This idea is similar to the “good is never enough” concept from Built to Last. In this section of the book, Collins urges companies to focus equally on what to do, what not to do, and what to stop doing. He believes that most companies focus too much on what to do and ignore what not to do or what they should stop doing. What are you doing based on tradition or industry standards? What assumptions or processes have you rested on because they were “good enough?” Good should be viewed as horrible because neither “great”.

Click here for a summary of this book.

In his book The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge details his model of a “learning organization,” which he defines as “an organization that is continually expanding its capacity to create its future.” A learning organization excels at both adaptive learning–also known as survival learning–and generative learning.

Click here for a summary of this wonderful book.

More recommendations coming...come back again.