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 one of you folks out there have something to say.

That being said, if any of you have an idea for an article or want to write an article, shoot me an email.

Until then . . . farewell Pillars of Stone.

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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 the handling a few times, but that’s it. I haven’t performed it for a single human. I also noted that pretty much nobody got involved with the experiment, so at the risk of two failed months in a row, I’m going to extend the activity and ask that you join in the fun. You can either post your results here or post them on the original article from Last Month.

Remember, everyone who participates will be entered in a drawing for a free copy of the Frixion DVD, and if last month’s “turn out” is any indication as to how many people participate, then your chances of winning are darn good!

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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 . . . have your friend pick another number or book, etc.

Keep in mind I will be doing this with you. The trick I ended up with is Frank Garcia’s Anytime 4 Aces. I haven’t even read the effect yet. I just know that the one that the fates chose for me. You may end up on something extremely difficult or something super easy. The goal isn’t to totally master the trick by the end of the month. Rather, the plan is to work really hard on it. Get through as many of the following steps as possible:

1. Learn the mechanics
2. Master the mechanics
3. Create a script/presentation
4. Master the script/presentation
5. Master the entire performance, presentation and mechanics in practice
6. Perform it for real people as much as possible

Read The March 2009 Roots and Branches article, Theory to Practice to learn more about my thinking on learning new effects.

Now if you end up with some crazy effect where the basic move takes a lifetime to master, that’s cool . . . just work on it as much as you can. Then report here. I recently was trying again to learn the Erdnase Diagonal Palm Shift . . . a move that I totally cannot do. Then suddenly in one session, I had a breakthrough, and suddenly I’ve leaped ahead light years from where I was. So please take the time to do this experiment.

I’ll be posting some commentary over the next few days to let you know how it’s going with my effect.

Just to sweeten the pot a little, everyone who participates will be entered in a drawing to win a free copy of the Stone Frixion Fire DVD that will be coming out this spring, so let’s have it folks. Tell me how it goes.

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We often hear it referred to as The Rule of Three. So what is it?  Well I’m no expert in psychology or human thinking by any stretch, however, consider what wikipedia has to say:

The rule of three is a principle in English writing that suggests that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things.

The reader/audience to this form of text is also more likely to consume information if it is written in groups of three’s. From slogans (“Go, fight, win!”) to films, many things are structured in threes. There were three musketeers, three little pigs, three billy goats Gruff, Goldilocks and the three bears, and Three Stooges.

A series of three is often used to create a progression in which the tension is created, then built up, and finally released. Similarly, adjectives are often grouped together in threes in order to emphasize an idea.

What the crap does that have to do with Pillars of Stone? Well simply this. I like this column to be thought provoking and to get you thinking about things that may help improve your magic. This is a pillar of stone to me . . . presentation. Take my effect Triptych, for example. It was the free trick of the month back in March 2008. This is a three card selection/revelation effect.

It’s pretty simple and straightforward, however, each revelation builds on the next to the point that the third reveal gets gasps. Does every trick need to have three climaxes? No. Of course not. However, consider looking at some of your effects, especially ones that have 2 climaxes. Evaluate them. Would a 2 climax routine be better as a 1 climax or a 3 climax, or is it best as a 2 climax?

Evaluate any tricks you do that already have 3 climaxes. Do they build on each other? Do you have effects that have more than 3 climaxes? Maybe that’s a bad idea. Maybe not?

The bottom line . . . I want you to think about your magic. Give it purpose. One simple way to do that is to look at the final moments, the impact moments, of the effect. Do you have the correct climax count? Do they build on each other? Are they in the right order?

I’m not here to give you the answers, only the questions. Finding the right questions is much better than finding the right answers. The questions lead you down paths. The answers end the search.

Short, Sweet, Sincere . . . That’s it for this month’s Pillar.

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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.

Now is Weird Al a copy cat; is he crazy, or is he a genius. I argue he’s a genius, so what’s the point? Well the point is that sometimes creativity starts with other people’s ideas.

Um, Jeff, this column is supposed to be about helping magicians.

Of course it is, and here’s the simple point. Most of you have effects in your repertoire that are not ones that you created, yet they are your own. It started as a Vernon trick or a Marlo or Sankey or insert-other-magician’s-name-here effect. You practiced it, performed, and perfected it . . . so much so that it has really evolved into your own. Michael Finney didn’t create “Card on Forehead,” but darn it; he perfected it. Again, if y0u haven’t seen it before, check out the performance below:

This month’s free trick, Dethroned, is somewhat an example of this. It started as a joke. A non-magician friend of mine broke his arm. He got tired of people asking him how he broke it so he started making up stories about how it happened. One time someone asked him what happened and he said, “I fell of the toilet.” I could not stop laughing. Then in my head I thought, “he you got dethroned.” Of course being a magician, my head went immediately from the word “throne” to Kings as in the four Kings in a deck of cards. Then I thought that it would really be funny to have a picture of a King falling off the toilet with a caption “Dethroned.”

Of course that ultimately lead to me wanting to create an effect called Dethroned. Of course it would have to use the Kings. I then converted an Ace effect idea I was working on into Dethroned by using Kings and coming up with a crazy story about 4 Kings being Dethroned. Once I shared the idea with Jason Montoya, he drew the incredible image for the effect, and his drawing and my effect inspired The Saga story. By the way, you can read that story in the August 2007 issue.

It all started with my friend’s broken arm. The key to creativity is an open mind. Jay Sankey, who is arguably one of the most creative Magician’s of our time, once told me that the ideas come from everywhere and that they are constantly surrounding us, and that he is just grateful when one lands in his head. They land in his head because he opens his mind.

Start getting the juices flowing by performing someone else’s effect and morphing it into your own. You don’t even have to start with magic. Start with a song. Do what Weird Al does; take another song and try to rewrite the lyrics to have the same tempo/rythm as the original. Many of the ideas I’ve created over the past several years (magic or not) started with a grain of a seed of an idea, but over time they morphed. I write down every single Idea that comes into my head. I’ve filled several journals. Most of the material released on my Gemstones DVD started as a very minute thought that I captured in my journal.

Brad Gordon wrote some awesome stuff about journals in the first three issues of the Pillars of Stone column. Take the time to read them:

• Journals Part I
• Journals Part II
• Journals Part III

Remember that this column is meant to be a place for me (and others) to ramble about anything that I feel is valuable to a magician. Being creative is one such topic, so hopefully, you’ve found some value in my rambling this month. One final thing, take the time to watch or re-watch the movie, Finding Forrester, if you want to be further inspired to become a Creative Genius; then watch my kids’ tribute to Weird Al, to numb your mind a little:

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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.

As I taught him and coached him on how to do this effect, I watched him grow in just a 30 minute period from an awkward boy trying to hold on to a paper clip to a smooth performer who fooled my wife by making a paper clip disappear. It was a proud moment on many levels, as a father, as a magician, as a teacher, and more. It was a great bonding experience for both of us.

Aside from the bonding, something else magical happened. During that 30 minute period, we addressed the following principles in magic:

• Timing/Rhythm
• Misdirection/Attention Focus
• Patter/Presentation
• Naturalness of action
• Practice

There were other things, but those were definitely the highlights. Here’s the kicker, though. By the time I finished teaching him how to do it, the simple “trick” of vanishing a paperclip became a very poetic and beautiful effect. Just helping my son fine-tune his presentation, helped me improve/create a good solid piece of mini-theater.

So my point? I mostly wanted to just share with you a magical experience with my son. However, if you insist on leaving with a lesson, then leave with this . . . teaching others is often the best way to learn something.

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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 or Oxycontin, or whatever (pick your poison). I’m tired of it.

However, as I mentioned, I try to stay open-minded – although I’ve been told not to open my mind so far that my brains fall out – so I’m going to open this subject up to debate. Please take time to post your opinion on this subject. I want to start a healthy debate. I’ve started with my opinion. Do you agree or disagree? I want to know why as well. A simple “I agree” or “I disagree” will not be helpful. Please tell us why you feel the way you do, and let’s hope for a good solid debate.

Should we keelhaul them, make them walk the plank, or should we advance them in rank and hold them up as heroes? Your thoughts?

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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, and so I’m always trying to look at both perspectives.

Granted, it’s not always easy, but it is always worth it. When I met Mr. Haydn in person at the lecture, I realized how accurately he applied the principles he believed in when it came to audience response and reaction. He fooled me with simple things that I knew and have even done before. He fooled me with a false count with linking rings. He fooled me with Al Leech’s effect Chicago Opener (aka Red Hot Momma), and so much more. I was blown away by his level of critical thinking and grasp of audience management.

His lecture is one of the best ones I’ve ever been to. At the end of the lecture we briefly talked for a few moments, and I told him that he opened my mind to a few things that I was opposed to. His response was “Don’t open your mind so much that your brain falls out.” To me, that’s even further evidence of how sharp Mr. Haydn is. Even when I agree with him, he basically is saying that I shouldn’t just agree with him all “willy-nilly” as they say. Make sure I really believe it and understand it; don’t just “change sides.”

I am, of course, interpreting what he meant, but even if I’m way off, I learned a ton from his lecture, and I really enjoyed him and his magic. He is a super nice guy, and very well educated on so many levels. So to all you magicians out there who aspire to be great performers, take a page out the book of Whit Haydn by studying him and his work.

As you know, this column, Pillars of Stone is sort of the catch-all column where I (or others) can talk about things that we think are important to your growth as a magician. What’s better to your growth than studying someone who knows what he’s doing. Please do yoursefl a huge favor and study Mr. Haydn’s work.

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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 phone lines and shake me by the collar. He really believes that you can be a star of magic, and he’s shown a lot of people how to get there and be that.

Because his voice is so powerful, we have him in “normal” font and me in italics. Although Jim is one of the top working magicians today, he began his career in 1979 performing magic on the streets of New York City, Boston, and at fairs and festivals from Maine to Florida.

Today Jim works as a motivational speaker and entertainer, presenting over 100 programs annually for business, educational, healthcare and human service organizations. His programs mix magic with motivational messages about teamwork, change, creativity and communications.

Jim’s client list reads like the Fortune 500, and includes such companies as General Motors, Toyota Manufacturing, Astra Zeneca and more. In addition, Jim is the author of Success In Magic, a comprehensive business-building course for magicians.

This was originally slated to appear in Street Magic Magazine, but that magazine went defunct about the same time that I wearied of its use of obscenities. Looking for a healthy place to publish it, I spotted Stone Cold Magic Magazine and arm-twisted good old Jeff into running it.

So let’s talk to Jim . . .

That’s about what it is: the first five to ten years what you’re going to learn while building the groundwork for your business. Marketing is just one part of a business plan. I like understanding the entire career ladder for magicians, what the possibilities are, what you need at each level, in each different type of venue.

Take for example, the audience of this magazine: street magicians. Where do they go next? What’s the next step? You’re out performing on the boardwalk at Atlantic City, passing the hat and making $50 a pass if you’re lucky. Where do you go next? I mean, what’s the next level?

Well, the next level might be working at a comedy club. Or it might be working private parties. And the next level would be getting more corporate work, with the eventual goal of doing trade shows. My definition of trade shows is merely “street magic in a business suit.”

Jim spoke longer – twice as long as this interview would indicate. This printed interview gives you at least two invaluable pieces of advice which can advance your career significantly. But Jim and Stone Cold Magic Magazine doesn’t stop there.

Jim has cleaned up the audio file a bit, and has posted a free copy at Jim’s site – and your favorite magical Grandpa suggests you check out the rest of his site while you’re there to see just how powerful his course is. There’s even a free mini-course offered on the site, which will show you how to get to that elusive “next level.” I cannot say enough good about this man and this course he offers. Since my goal is that we have better magicians, I strongly recommend the Success-in-Magic course.

And, as always, I remain your faithful Grandpa – you can reach me via email and we’ll wish each other a merry Christmas and yahoo New Year! (Boy, is this interview old!)

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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 Roots and Branches column. This month is no exception.

Simply put, I want to remind you to take advantage of your surroundings. This is nothing new. However I thought I’d give a specific example of a case that happened to me. If you have a similar situation, feel free to leave a reply below.

The Story:
Years ago, I was performing a couple of card tricks for some classmates in college. One of the times, a card was selected, but because the person picking the card did not want me to have any clue what the card was, she grabbed it and quickly pulled the card to her chest to cover it from my view. She then peeled the card away from her chest just slightly enough for her (and nobody else) to see. Well it just so happened that there was a pretty good sized window behind the her. As she grabbed the card and pulled it to her chest, I saw the reflection in the window even before she pressed it to her chest. So I knew the card before her.

What I did next was nothing overly amazing, and probably nothing that you haven’t thought of either. I simply handed her the deck with my back turned and told her to shuffle her card into the deck and put the deck in her pocket. Then I proceeded to read her mind. Not Earth-shattering, but think of it from her perspective. In her mind, what I did was impossible. I’m sure we’ve all had these moments. The key is to grab them and go with the flow.

The trick I was going to do was abandoned, so I could seize the moment. Be flexible. Be aware of your vantage point and take advantage of it (I told you). Look for these moments in your performances. The secret to seeing these moments is to be so confident in your technical skill and your people skills that you don’t have to “try” when you perform, but rather, you just do (thank you Yoda).

When you’ve got the performance chops (technical and people) you will be able to take in your environment a bit more and absorb what is around you. Maybe the spectator accidentally crimps the card . . . go with it. Let it be shuffled back into the deck by the spectator. Maybe when you borrow a bill from a spectator, you notice a strange object in his wallet . . . maybe an out of state driver’s license . . . maybe you even happen to glimpse enough information that you could “read his mind” a few effects later.

I don’t want to go on rambling, but rather, I would hope that you remember this very simple yet often overlooked idea and make it your mission to focus on and act on your Advantage Point.

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