The Magic of Howdy Do Dat?
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| Thanks for popping in on my pretentious page of prestidigitation. I have always had an intrest in magic, but did not take it too seriously until September of 1988. My son Nathaniel then 5 years old was awestruck by a magic performance he saw at a local festival. It was then I decided to learn a magic effect or two to entertain him. While browsing a bookstore I ran into a book written by Mark Wilson entitled 'Mark Wilson's Complete Course In Magic'. Many of you may not remember Mark, but he had a Saturday morning tv show featuring his magic back in the uh, err, early 60's. I purchased the book and immediately began reading it and working on some of the effects in the book. More than likely you have noticed me using the word effect as opposed to magic trick. Many magicians feel dogs do tricks, magicians perform effects. The book itself is the best I have seen for budding magicians and is still available through magic suppliers. It includes many effects that can be learned fairly easily, and also constructed at home quite quickly. There are effects with rope, coins, paper money, cups and balls, newspaper, etc., and yes of course, card tricks. (It's okay to say card tricks.) Every magician must know a few card tricks. A word to the wise. If you don't want to perform in front of friends or relatives don't let them know you are practicing magic. I hadn't had the book but a few days before everyone was asking me what else I had learned. Of course if you've learned anything at all you must perform it. That's how I learned to always carry a deck of cards with me. This can be a lot of fun. There have been many parties I've attended with live music, dj's, etc., that doing a card trick at the table have turned into an evening's performance. It's a lot of fun but be prepared to hear about it from your spouse or date on the way home. Since my early days of learning magic I have performed hundreds of shows all over the state of Michigan. I have performed at birthday parties, private parties, company outings, festivals, special events where I was the main attraction, and yes on television. I perform for audiences of all ages, sizes, and cross sections. The magic I perform consists of small stage type shows, close-up, and walkaround or table type magic. I enjoy all of it, but my favorite is the walkaround. This is all close-up type magic done right in front of the spectators. This type of magic requires much more skill than large stage type shows. With people all around the magician there is no room for error. Everything must be done in a precise manner or there is no magic. Following you will find a few photos of me performing at some shows and a link to a page of magic links. Please be careful if you follow the link. There are some pages listed that give some effects away. The more you learn about magic, the less enjoyment you will have watching it be performed. So please if you enjoy seeing magic performed and being amazed, stay away from the show and tell pages. Well if you've read all this so far, thank you, thank you, thank you. You are a real saint. Thanks for visiting my page and enjoy the links. |