Meir’s Muses
MyMagic eNewsletter #1,180
February 28, 2024
Had a very busy week at the G4G15 Conference in Atlanta. Have not been there in many years and there are a lot fewer magicians attending than when it started 30+ years ago. I thought I would share photos of some of the interesting people I bumped into. I could write a newsletter about each but will leave that to you to research if it interests you.
Jim Gardner (son of Martin), Alvy Ray Smith (Pixar), Bob Hearn (ClarisWorks), Bryan Berg (Cardstacker), and before I left, I had lunch with Jeff Justice.
But meeting and hanging out with these giants was not even the best part of the week.
Nate Bargatze (Stephen’s son) simultaneously shared a video of me doing some finger stuff for his friends backstage at a recent show.
The video was going viral with 5-10 thousand views per hour…I was fixated with the numbers going up and putting smiles on my face when they passed, 100,000…200,000…quarter million, etc.
Feel free to watch, share, and comment. The direct MagicTimes link is: HERE
I remember when the original Matchbook Penetration came out. It fooled all the magicians because we had no concept of what was happening or what was possible with a piece of brass. When the deck version came out it was a perfect fit for magicians who did card magic. This new version is likely the best yet with some nice features and what looks like a very heavy piece of steel.
►Industrial Revelation:
You start by pushing a quarter or knife through a box of playing cards. Most of the audience is unimpressed until you open up the box and tip out of the contents. Everyone’s jaws will drop when, instead of a deck of cards, a solid block of metal falls out.
This is one of those effects that creates instant stunned silence. Everyone’s brains will start scrambling for an explanation, but there isn’t one. It’s a moment of real magic that’s so easy to do and essentially self-working.
Watch and buy: HERE
►Meaningful Conjuring:
NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK
Ed Solomon was a master storyteller who used magic to emphasize the point or moral of his stories. He wanted his magic to appeal to the intellect and touch the soul of his audiences, or as he put it: “People may not remember my name or the magic that I performed, but they will remember how it made them feel.”
Between 2004 and 2015 Ed wrote 125 columns in The Linking Ring magazine that featured short stories that used simple magic to highlight their messages. All those columns are included in this book along with some bonus tricks, essays, and more.
Watch and buy: HERE
►BACK IN STOCK:
While I was away, new and backordered products kept being delivered and two of them are below. I really like Fishy Fish and even made my own with a picture of Merlin’s Wand that I used to open my close-up shows at the G4G Conference. The other item is the super strong magnetic coin system by Kreis.
►Fishy Fish:
This is a self-working and very deceptive puzzle where you show a picture of a fish that runs across three postcards. The cards are mixed so they are obviously out of order.
You turn the cards face down for a moment and when they are turned face up the fish is reassembled as it was before the mixing.
If you are not familiar with the principle involved, you will be fooled the first time you see it.
Watch and buy: HERE
►Obake Quarter Set:
Kreis is best known for his exceptionally powerful magnetic coins that can be used for some incredible seeming magic. The coins are so strong that they can attract each other through your hand, a deck of cards, or even through most tables.
“Obake” means ghost in Japanese, and this “ghost” coins set allows you to do some clean and impossible looking routines that cannot be done with other similar gimmicks.
Watch and buy: HERE
►LATEST RELEASE:
►Brain Bogglers:
For many years Meir Yedid has been opening his stage, parlor, and formal close-up shows with a series of three optical illusions/brain twisters where he explains how magic works. The premise is that we tell you the truth, but your brain lies to you.
The three optical illusions/brain twisters are the standard Word Skipping Illusion, Cornsweet Illusion, and Thatcher illusion, although they have been modified to optimize the live presentations and make them more interesting.
Watch and buy: HERE
►eBay Update:
Please visit my eBay store and auction for some cool and not so cool magic items. I keep trying to add more stuff every few days.
►Direct link to auctions: HERE
►Direct link to the MyMagic eBay store: HERE
►UPCOMING APPEARANCES:
►March 17: Spinnato’s Comedy Magic Show at Comix @ Mohegan Sun Casino in CT. Tickets: HERE
To view all my upcoming appearances go: HERE
Stay happy, Meir
PS: The G4G of today is dominated by mathematicians and academics. Which explains why all the events start at the ungodly hour (for entertainers) of 8:30am! I am still exhausted from the lack of sleep.
 |  |
“Each kind of magic has the same apparent goal–the temporary suspension or control of natural laws.”
…Marvin Kaye (The Handbook Of Magic, 1973)
