You may notice that the participation in this column’s exercise for the past two months has been . . . well . . . let’s just say that there are more peanuts in a bag of airline peanuts than there was participation on this column. I’m just as “guilty.” I just didn’t take the time to practice or perform the effect I picked out. For this reason and many others, this column is going into semi-retirement. It will occasionally come out of retirement in future issues if I have something to say that doesn’t “fit” in another column or if [...]
Mar 292010
Feb 262010
Ok folks . . . I know this is a total cop out, but hear me out. I’ve spent the last week with 2 ear infections, strep, bronchitis, and a sinus infection . . . yep . . . all at once. On top of that I really was pushing to get the new updates to the site done in time, and of course the other distraction was the Frixion DVD shoot. With that said, I totally spaced my (our) assignment to pick a random trick and play with it for a month. I picked the trick and even practiced [...]
Jan 312010
This month, I thought it would be fun to do a creativity exercise. I want you to report on your experience, so make sure you leave a comment. Go to your collection of Books, VHS’s and DVDs. Ignore any one trick DVDs and packet tricks, etc. Now have a non-magi friend randomly pick one of those items (a book, video or DVD). Next have them randomly name a number between 1 and however many tricks are in the book, video or DVD. Your job is to spend this month learning that trick. Now if it’s one you already do . [...]
Dec 312009
First, I need to thank my friend Michael Rigby, owner of Curious Country Creations, for the coining of the phrase which is the title of this article. This is a concept that we’re all familiar with. In fact, in Michael’s website, you can find the use of it. His business name uses alliteration . . . three words that start with the same sound, in this case a hard “C.” In sales and marketing, telling the story or the sales message three times is key. We often hear it referred to as The Rule of Three. So what is it? [...]
Nov 292009
Creative Genius By Jeff Stone You ever listen to “Weird Al” Yankovic? Is the guy just crazy, or is he a creative Genius? I say it’s a little of the former and mostly the latter. I mean, come on, anyone who can turn Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise into Amish Paradise is a genius, is he not? For the uninitiated, take a look at the first video below (Coolio). Then watch the next one (Weird Al). No, seriously, watch these two videos. Gangsta’s Paradise: View On YouTube Amish Paradise: View On YouTube Now is Weird Al a copy cat; is he crazy, [...]
Oct 312009
Connecting with Clips By Jeff Stone Those who read my blog know that I spend one night per week with one of my children. This week, it was Michael’s turn, my 11 year old son. He wanted to learn a magic trick – I let them pick the agenda for the night. So I decided to teach him a trick that fooled me as a kid about his age . . . the vanishing paperclip. Choose your own method; the point here isn’t about method. It’s about connection. In this case, connection with my Son. However, the lesson goes further. [...]
Scurvy Ridden One Eye’d Thieves! By Jeff Stone I try to be a pretty open-minded person, and try as I might, I just cannot find any good reason that someone becomes a pirate. No, I don’t mean Johnny Depp. I’m talking about people who think it’s ok to copy DVDs, and eBooks and pass them around and download them without paying for them. In my opinion, as you no doubt guessed based on the title of this article, these people are no different from a petty thief knockin’ over a local drug store to get their latest fix of nicotine [...]
Aug 282009
What a Character By Jeff Stone I recently attended a Whit Haydn lecture here at our local magic club. Before I met Mr. Haydn, he and I got into a discussion on the magic cafe about our role with the audience, and their role with us. On many levels I disagreed with his perspective, and he disagreed with mine. However, the conversation was product, albeit heated occasionally, but we came out of it still respecting each other it appeared. If you’ve been reading my stuff for more than a couple of issues, you likely know that I hate close-minded thinking, [...]
Succeeding With Jim Snack An interview by good old Grandpa Chet I wish you could hear Jim Snack’s voice. He’s so enthusiastic that he fills you with energy. His course (see the end of this paragraph) includes all these CDs which – literally – kept me awake and alert on a drive from Arizona to Missouri. It may be the first “covers-all-the-bases” course for magicians; it’s certainly the one which can lead you during the first decade of your career. Throughout this interview, Jim got so excited about magic, about performing, that it seems he would climb right through the [...]
Jun 282009
Advantage Point By Jeff Stone Yes I know that the phrase is really “Vantage Point.” However, you’ll see the meaning of my title soon. As you know, Pillars of Stone is basically a monthly blog post about anything that I feel should be published that will truly help you as a magician . . . something that maybe doesn’t quite fit into one of the other columns. It’s a catch-all, but it usually seems to be very much up the alley of a Roots and Branches. I find that these articles are sort of like less formal versions of the [...]
May 252009
Ritual By Brad “Scarnecky” Gordon One fine day I was exercising a personal ritual of mine which consisted of sitting peacefully, thinking and writing in my journal. I am a very peculiar person who really enjoys to have the television on while reading and writing. Normally I love to put in a movie of some kind (without commercials) so that I can somewhat listen to the movie. In fact I have listened to Forrest Gump at least 20 times, however I have never seen it, can you imagine? On this particular day I found myself watching Karate Kid II. This, [...]
Apr 282009
Budd-Ha! By Paul Budd Written By Jeff Stone Everyone, Meet Paul Budd. He’s a fellow magi, SCM Magazine (see what I did there… using the new name…) subscriber, and a darn clever copy writer. Most of the ad copy for any products I’ve sold in the past was written by Mr. Budd. Lately Paul has developed an interest… nay… an obsession with the old Buddha Mystery Papers. For the uninitiated, the workings of Buddha Mystery Papers can be found in several places, however, the best place that I’ve seen is in The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Magic Tricks by Tom [...]
Mar 292009
Something From Nothing By Jeff Stone As you may recall, the Pillars of Stone column is a very random column. Unlike the other columns in this newsletter, there is no specific author assigned to this column. In fact, you could be the author… If you’ve got an idea or a rant you want to share with the magic fraternity, shoot me an email. This might be what you need. Meanwhile, while talking to my buddy Jay Sankey, he told me the following story. Here it is in his own words: While in touring in Germany several years ago I noticed [...]
Feb 132009
Trickless Wonders By Brad “Scarnecky” Gordon As magicians, and magical enthusiasts we have a unique advantage over others. Inside of many social situations or circumstances we are regarded by our peers as being able to do things that are quite special (magical). Having said that I am reminded of a time some ten years ago, that really stands out in my personal memory. I found myself living and working in the Southern California area (Orange County to be precise), and my job at the time was located in Irvine. I really enjoyed the time I got to spend there and [...]
Jan 252009
Connect The Synapses By Brad “Scarnecky” Gordon One of my favorite things to do is jot down little facts in my journal that are very compelling, followed up with many “what if” imagination triggers. The subjects found in this article just so happens to be one among the very first entered in my journals. I would like to create an interesting connection or bridge between two very interesting subjects: Modern-Day Science and Magic/Mentalism. I strongly feel that it is important to shed light on a subject which some people may consider to be sort of far out there. We see [...]
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