793.8WHERE IS THE MAGIC?

JEFF STONE

When you confront the boundary of your

ignorance, you are a child again.

If you can cross the boundary, you learn.

–Clay Neves

A Lot of Magic Starts at The Fingertips . . . ends at the Wrist

Paul Starts at The Brain and it Goes to the Heart

–Andrew Mayne*

* Speaking of Paul Harris on Magic Newswire’s This Week in Magic (6/14/10)

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Astonishment Over Moves.

–My Mantra

793.8WHERE IS THE MAGIC?

Written byJeff Stone

Cover DesignJimmy Gibbs

InspirationBrad “Scarnecky” Gordon

Jay SankeyPaul Harris

Melvil Dewey

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Thank YouH

TherearealwayssomanypeopleIoweadebtofgratitudebythetimeIcompleteanyofmybooks.Soletmestartbythankingallofyou,my fanswhohavewaitedpatiently for thisbook tofinallybecompleted.SomanytimesIthoughtIwassocloseonlytodiscoverthatIwassofar. ThankyoutoBradGordonforalwaysbeingatruefriendandatrueinspirationwhenitcomestothinkingaboutmagic.ThankyoutoJaySankeyforconstantlynaggingmeabouttheprogressofthisproject. ThankyoutoAndyandtherestoftheMurrayTacoTimegangforlettingmetakeupaboothformanyhoursonendwhilewrit-inguntilmylaptopbatterygaspeditslastbreath. Thankyoutomyfamilyfortherestofthewritingtimedowninmymancave that isStoneColdMagicHeadquarters.WhileI’mthere,myfamilymerelysensesmypresence...theydon’tseeme. Finally,thankyoutomydaughterCourtney.Itwasherfinalchallengetotheentirefamilythatweeachworkonagoaleverydaythatfinallygotmetobuckledownandcompletethisquest.

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FIRST EDITION© 2014Stone Cold Magic, LLC

Nopartof thispublicationmaybe sold,distributed, reproduced, stored inaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,me-chanical,photocopying,recording,oranyinformationstorageandretrievalsys-temnowknow,ortobeinvented,withouttheexpressedwrittenconsentoftheauthor.

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Jeffcouldn’thavewrittenthiswonderfulbookatabettertime. Afterfartoomanyyearsofrabbitshoppingoutofhats,overlyseriousmagiciansstaring‘mysteriously’attheiraudiences,andthepompouspresentationsofpointlesspuzzles,magicisfinallychanging. Audiences andperformers alike, are re-evaluating thedust-coveredideaof‘TheMagician,’especiallyinlightofGoogleandourso-called‘AgeofInformation.’WhenthesecretstomosttrickscanbereadilyfoundonYouTube,wheredoesthatleavetheartofmagic? In Jeff’sbook,heasksagainandagain:where is themagic?Jeffoffersathrillingrangeofanswerstothisquestion,suggestingthatmagiccanbefoundintheelementofsurprise,inclassiccardtrickbooks,intheemotionbehindlinesofscript,inconnectingwithpeople,innotknowing,andinsomanyotherlushplaces. I’manenormousfanofthephilosophicalperspectivesflowingthroughthisbook,butmakenomistake,thesepagesalsodocu-mentmanypowerful,clever,commercialmagiceffects.Amongmy favorites are ‘LeavingDecks’, ‘Martika’, and the extremelyintimate‘OdetoCharlie.’ Jeff also shares awealth of great advice onperforming andcreating,alongwithmanybrilliantsubtleties.Infact,you’llfindfresh thoughts and clever insights on every single page. Jeff’sbrainjustcan’thelpitself.

ForewordH

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Andwhenitcomestotheimportantsubjectofscripting,Jeffreally outdoes himself. I can’t remember the lastmagic book Iread thatofferedsuchanambitiousanalysisof scripting.Trulyinspiringstuff. Where is themagic?Between the coversof thisbook, that’swhere.

JaySankeyOct31,2013Toronto,Canada

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Dedicated to Dodd Vickers for his continued effort

to remind us all what real magic should be.

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THANK YOU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

FOREWORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

PART ONE - GETTING IN THE RIGHT FRAME OF MIND . . . . . . . . . .17

MAGIC IS A DRUG AND DRUGS ARE DANGEROUS . . . . . . . . . . . 18

YOU, ME AND DUPREE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

THAT REMINDS ME OF A TIME BACK IN ‘NAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

PART TWO – “EFFECT”-IVE ESSAYS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

DEDICATED TO THE ART . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

YOU CAN’T BE A KING IN YOUR HOME TOWN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

SHERLOCK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

THE INVISIBLE DOOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

SELF-WORKING LAY PERSON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

THE BLACK HEART REVEALS ITSELF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

YOU’RE RIGHT - STACK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

PAPER BALLS UNDER THE HEAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

SPECTATOR’S CHOICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72

PART THREE – MISCELLANEOUS MISCHIEVOUSNESS . . . . . . . . . . 87

FORCE SCHMORCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89

NOTES ON MISCALLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92

WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH THE DOWN UNDER DEAL? . . . . . . . . 94

CARD MEMORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98

LUKE AND THE 15 FORCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

FORCES OF NATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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BOOK TEST SUBTLETIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117

FAUX-QUIVOQUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

INVISIBLY SUBTLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

TWINKIE PICKER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

PART FOUR – ACTUAL EFFECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

THE FAKE FALSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

LEAVING DECKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

MARTIKA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

I NEED A HERO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

ACE RE-REVISITED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

STONE COLD MAGICARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

NO ESP CARDS . . . NO PROBLEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

GEMINI SHOPPING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

MEMORY RELAPSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

TOWER OF BABEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

PART FIVE – THE MALINI EFFECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

MOAB, UTAH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .222

EVERYTHING FADES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245

ODE TO CHARLIE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

FINAL THOUGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

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IntroductionH

A standard 3x3x3Rubik’sCubehas 43 quintillion (that’s 43million,million,millions) different configurations that it couldpossibly be twisted into, yet I (andmany,many others in theworld)cantakeamixedcubeinanyoneofthese43quintillionconfigurationsandsolveitinabouta40seconds...aminuteonabadday.

Australiancubist,FeliksZemdegsholdstherecordof5.66sec-ondsasofthetimeofthewritingofthisbook.Ifyouthinkthat’safluke,thinkagain,theworldrecordbeforethatwas6.18seconds,beforethat,6.24,beforethat,6.65,6.77,7.03...

14 793 .8: Where is the Magic?

Oh...didImentionthatallsixofthoserecordsareheldbyoneperson,FeliksZemdegs?Yet in 1974,when theHungarianprofessorErnoRubikinventedthecube,hewasn’tevensureifasolutionwaspossible.Now,I’mnoErnoRubik,butthisbookandhistooltoexplainthreedimensionalgeometrygoneinternationalsuper-starpuzzlehavealotincommon.Themissionofthisbookismany-fold.Oneofthe“folds”istogetyouthinking.VeryoftenwhenIcreateaneffect, Ihavenosolution.ImayhavearoughideaofhowImightaccomplishit,butthat’saboutit. ManyoftheessaysoreffectsinthisbookareverymuchliketheRubik’sCubeinitsfirstyear...I’mnotevensureifawork-ablesolution ispossible.Yetas Ibeganextractingmythoughtsandnotes frommy journals tocreate thisproject, themethods,presentationsandfurtherdevelopmentscameasIwrote.How-ever, thoughI’vecapturedthese thoughts foryourbenefit, it isnotthepointofthisbook–farfromit.Thereareplentyofcases,infact,whereIgivenomethod.Ileaveitasapuzzleforyou,thereader,tosolve. Thepointistheeffect,notthemethod...Astonishment Over Moves; wonderaboveallelsemustprevail.Ifyou’relookingforabookonmethodoraudiencemanagement,orhowtopickspecta-torsthisprobablyisn’tforyou.Thosesubjectsarecertainlyfoundwithinthesepages,butonlyasneededtoillustrateadeeperpoint...effectovermethod.ThoughthereareplentyofroutinesthatI’vehonedovertheyearstaughtinthisbook,therearealsocrazyessays that aremeant as thought experiments to provoke youandyourmind.How’sthisforaneffect...youbecome20yearsyoungerbeforealiveaudience,andyoustaythatway.That’sacrazyeffect,yetIhaveapossiblemethodintheessaycalledDedi-cated to the Art. Thepointofthatessaywillnotbetogetyoutoperformtheef-fect,butrathertogetyoutothinkabouteffect...anyeffect.Theeffect is theaffectwhendoneproperly.Furthermore,when the

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affectiscorrect,theaudienceexperiencesamomentofastonish-mentorwonder(aswe’llrefertoitinthistext). When Iwas very young,my father did essentially the coinfrom theear trick (itwas reallydenimpantsbackpocket labelfrommouth),andtothisday,itstillfeelslikerealmagic.

ItwasthemomentthatstartedmedownthepaththatIamstillontoday...ajourneytoafeeling...wonder.I’velostmywayovertheyears.AphonecallwithBillMaloneback inthenine-tieswhereheclearlytoldmethatbeingagoodtechnicianisn’tenoughgotmebackon track.Heaskedme,areyouentertain-ing?Theanswerbackthenwasno.Whatistheanswertoday?Itwouldbesomethinglike“I’malotmoreentertainingnowthanIwasbackthen.”ForBillitwasallabouttheimpactontheaudi-ence. Throughout theupcomingtext, Iwillbeusingvarious tech-niquestoopenyourmindtowonder,somemoresubtleormoreboldthanothers.Thoughyouwill learna lotofgreatroutines,youwillalso(hopefully)beguidedtowardthepathofwonder. Whenyousawthetitleofthisbook,likelyyouhadoneoftworeactions.Youeitherthought,“Whattheheckdoes793.8mean?”

Introduction

16 793 .8: Where is the Magic?

or you thought, “Hey isn’t 793.8 theDeweyDecimal code forMagicbooksinthepubliclibrary?”Ifyoufellintothelattercat-egory,youverylikelyrememberedbeingatthelibraryasayoungchildcheckingoutmagicbooks.Youmighthaverememberedtheexcitement,thethrillorthefeelingyoufeltasyouwerestudyingandlearningmagic. I remember the feeling . . . the feelingof thumbing throughbookslike101 Easy To Do Magic TricksbyBillTarr...thoseillus-trationsofthingsI’dneverseenbefore.Andotherbookswiththecolorfulpictureswithcheesykidsdressed inevencheesier tophatsandcapes.Thecolorfulflowersandsilksandapparatusthatlookedsocool.Itwaswonder-full–fullofwonder. ThatfeelingisthefeelingthatIcontestislostamongjustabouteverymagicianoutthere.I’mtryingtobringitbacktoyouthereader/magician and to the collective world population thatwecallouraudience.Toomanymagicianshaveforgottenaboutwonder.Hopefullybytheendofthisbook,you’llbeonthissideofthefencerememberingwonder. At the end of each effect/essay/etc. youwill find a sectioncalledWhere is the Magic. The intent of this section is to sparksome imagination and get you thinking andwondering aboutwhatmakesthiseffectoressayorideamagical...whereisthemagic(i.e.,wonder)?Ofcourse,thedualmeaningofthisquestioncanbefoundinthefactthatthisistheveryquestion,whenaskedof a librarian thatwill be answeredwith the title of this book:793.8.

JeffStoneSaltLakeCity,UtahAugust2012

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Whatfollowsisthreeessays.First,Magic is a Drug and Drugs are Dangerousismeanttogetyouremembering.That’soneofthemainpurposesofthisbook.Iwantyoutothinkbacktoatimebeforeyouwere an “addict.”What got you “high”back then?That’swhatgetsyouraudience“high”today. Next we take a bizarre turn and dive into context and themeaningofwordswithYou, Me and Dupree. The intent here istoplanttheseedsoftheparadigmshift.I’mtryingtohelpyou/ustakethetimetolookateffect.Afterall,effectiswhatmattersmost:howtheeffectaffects. Finally,wehitessaynumberthree, That Reminds me of a Time Back in ‘NamwhichhasagoalthatpicksupwhereYou,MeandDupreeleftoff.Thisisallaboutsettingthecontextandthetoneofyourshow.Wediveintoasampleofhowyoumightstartoffyourshow. However,therealpurposeistogetyouthinkingintermsofcontext,meaning,attitude,etc.Itisherethatwefindmagic.

Getting in the RightFrame of Mind

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1P A R T

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“Effect”-ive EssaysH

2P A R T

Thisnextsectionofessaysismeanttotakeyouonajourneywithseveralexperiencesfrommylifeatanearlyageandmorerecently.Althoughwe’llbediscussingthingslikeparadigmsanddogmasalongwithhallucinationsandkeepingyourmindopen,theultimategoalofthisgroupofessaysistogetusthinkingabouteffect...presentation,notmethod. We’lldiscuss the truth that even thoughspectatorsaskhowit’sdone,theyreallydon’twanttoknow.We’lldiscussthisasitappliestoeffect. We’llfinishupwithtwoessaysthatevolveintopossibleeffectsasweexaminemyfavoritequestion,“Whatifwewenttheotherway?” WhenIreadthePaulHarristrilogy,The Art of Astonishment,Iwasalreadyveryfamiliarwithhiswork,hiseffects,etc.However,Ihadnoideaabouthisthinkingontheconceptofastonishment,andIhadnoideahowmuchofageniushereallyis.Iknewhewasclever,andIevenknewthathewasagenius,butIhadnoideatowhatlevelhisgeniusextendeduntilIreadthosebooks. OnceIcaughtupwiththerestoftheclass,IthirstedfortheoryessaysfromPaulHarris.Sinceprettymuchallofthatwaspub-lishedinthistrilogy,Ihadnochoicebuttoreadtheessaysover

32 793 .8: Where is the Magic?

andoveragain.Therewereacoupleof“outthere”ideasthathepublishedasjustthat...ideas.Stuffthatwasnevertestedorstuffthatwasmaybeevenclosetoimpossibleinpractice,butprobableintheory.Thenextfewessaysfallintooneofthosecategories...untestedormerelytheoretical. Let’sstartthisbizarrejourneywithapieceIcall,Dedicated to The Art.

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MiscellaneousMischievousness

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3P A R T

Nextup...ahandfulofideas,subtleties,thoughts,conceptsandotherthingsthathavevariousapplications. InForce Schmorcewe’ll takeapeekat spectator choices,ver-biageandusingEquivoqueproperlyandlogically.We’ll followthatwithsomepointersonhowtotakeadvantageofluckwhenitcomesyourwayduringpresentationinNotes on Miscalls.Further,wewillbrieflytouchonhowtoorchestratethissocalledluckandexploititwhenithappensandevenwhenitdoesn’t. InmyquesttogivemeaningtotheDownUnderDeal(What’s the Deal with the Down Under Deal),I’vedevelopedasimplepre-sentationalsubtletytomakesenseoutoftheprocedure.Let’salsoaddsomelevitytoourpresentationwithCard Memory. Withinthewallsofthesection,you’llfindabrandnewforcethatgivesmeaningandlogictomakingaspectatordomathonathoughtofnumber,Luke and the 15 Force.Whatfollows,Forces of Nature,isacrazyjourneythroughahugevaultofbizarrebooktest ideas. You’ll find some crazy stuff on taking a borrowed-bookbook-testtothenext-next-nextlevel.Formoreformalper-formances, add the few ideas fromBook Test Subtleties, to yourroutineforanimprovementinfairnessandlegitimateness.

88 793 .8: Where is the Magic?

Nextwe’llfurtherthediscussiononluckandmagician’schoiceandhowtheirpathsoftencrossaswelearntheprincipleofFaux-Quivoque.You’llfurtherfindabrandnewuseforaSvengaliDeck,inanexcellentessayonEquivoqueandsimilar techniqueswillopenyourmindtothepowerofthiscombinationoftools. WithInvisibly Subtle,you’llfindasimplewaytomodifyyourinvisibledecktotakeall theriskoutofthispowertool,andfi-nally,we’llwrapupthissectionwithTwinkie Picker,ahandlingandpresentationofmyeffect(fromGemstones),Epicenter(billinsealedTwinkie),toabrandnewplacewithperfectlogic,funandpresentationalclaritythatmakesmewonderwhyIdidn’tdoitlikethisinthefirstplace. Thegoalofthissectionistoloadupyourarsenalwithsomeserioustoolsthatwilltakeyourmagic/mentalismintoadifferentrealm...muchmorepowerfulandwonderful(i.e.,fullofwon-der)realm.

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Actual EffectH

4P A R T

What follows are mostly fully fleshed out effects, many ofwhicharedirectfrommyworkingrepertoire.Othersaretestedbutnotnecessarily“proven.”Stillothersarenoteventested,butasyoureadthem,you’llseethefullpotentialandrecognize,im-mediately,theirvalue.Manyoftheseeffectswillbeajourneythatwe take together aswewalk throughhow I got from the ideatothefinishedproduct.Manyofthemkeptleadingtomoreandmoreideasasyou’llsee. The Fake FalseisacombinationofstuffI’vedonemanytimesandstuffI’veonlythoughtaboutdoing.LEAVING DECKSisaneffectthatI’veprovedtheconcepton,buthaveneverperformedforarealaudience. Martika isa crazyeffect that I’veneverdoneandoneof theaforementioned journeyswe’ll be taking together. It’s an effectthathastheriskofoffendingpeopleduetothesensitivesubjectmatter(fallenheroesandveterans)butatthesametimehashugepotentialtotrulymoveanaudience. Ontheotherendofthespectrumareeffectslike,I Need a Herowhichhasbeenastapleinmystandupshowforyears.Ace Re-RevisitedismyhandlingofaLarryBeckereffectthatistheperfectstrollingbook testandanotherstaple inmycloseupact.Stone

136 793 .8: Where is the Magic?

Cold MagiCardismyscript,handlingandperformanceforMarkJenest’sMagiCardthatI’veusedforyears. No ESP Cards . . . No ProblemisonethatI,literally,neverleavehomewithout.ItusesfiveESPcards,andIcarrytheminmywal-let.However, the version taught here canbedone even if youhavenoESPcards. NextwepickupmyHandlingofEugeneBurger’sGemini Mon-eycalledGemini Shoppingwhichhasbeentestedonafewmagi,butnotfullyaudiencetested.However,thisisonethatyou’llim-mediatelyrealizeisverypowerfulandhasaverygoodemotionalhookandlendsitselfwelltofunandaudienceparticipation. Thenweheaddowntheroadofrealmind-messing-withstuffwithMemory Relapse, anupdateon JaySankey’s effectMemory Lapsewhereyoucauseaspectatortoforgetathought.Inthisver-sion, theyhaveno choice but to believe that they truly forgot.Verypowerful. Finally,weendthischapterbyhavingthespectatorspeakingintongueswithTower of Babel,andnoshe’snotastooge,instantorotherwise.Shereallydoesspeakintonguesandhasnoideawhy.

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The Malini EffectH

5P A R T

Thisfollowingsectionisfullofverypowerfuleffectsthatwillabsolutely send the participant to “wonder” land in the truestmeaningofthephrase.Theeffectstakealotofpreparation.We’renot talkingabout fulldeck stacks . . .we’re talkingaboutMaxMalini-esquestuffhere. You’llbesopreparedtoimmerseyourparticipantintowon-der thatyoumaynever actuallyget todo it.Theseare specialmomentsthatrequirealotofwork,butwillbesopowerfulthatyou’llneverbeabletorepeatthemortopthem. Thoughnoteverythinginthissectionrequiresamonstersetup,IchosetohonorMalini’snamebecausemanyofthethingshedid(whichDIDrequiretheelaboratesetups)createdthemostpowerfulmomentsofwonder thatarepossible in theworldofoneononemagic. Yesthesearebigclaims,butonceyoureadthem,you’llunder-standtheirpower. We’ll start ofMOAB, UT an oddly titled effect thatwas in-spiredbyanoutfortheMotherOfAllBookTeststhattookmeonajourneyfromacooleffecttoapureconnectionwiththespecta-tor.Whereweendedupisnowherenearabooktest. Nextwe’llcheckoutEverything Fades.Thisisjustaboutasim-

221

possibleasitgets.Essentially,anyobjectaspectatornamesmate-rializesinyourhand.Yep... Finally,wewrapup this sectionwith two effectswhere themagicissopowerfulthatyouaren’teventherewhenithappens.WithDon’t Try This At Home,youperformastrangeexperimentwhereyoumailapredictiontothespectatoranditprovestocon-taineverythingsheisthinkingof.Veryweirdandaverypower-fulwaytomarketyourself. Last,butfar,far,farfromleast,isOde to Charlie,whereacoinliterallymaterializes from thin airwhen the spectator is in an-otherroom,orevenathome.

The Malini Effect

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With:

Over a Dozen effects . . .

More than 20 essays and thought experiments . . .

Nearly 270 pages of madness . . .

You’re sure to find the answer to the question . . .

793.8