brad gordon Archives - Stone Cold Magic Magazine

Monthly Prizes, Return of Scarnecky and The Loss of a Friend

Jeff Stone — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:08:16 +0000

Condolences to the Tom Loveridge Family

I’m truly saddened to announce the death of a friend and fellow magi, Tom Loveridge. Tom, a member of the IBM Ring #193 here in Salt Lake City, Utah passed away on Monday (2/6/12) on the day after his 58th birthday. He died during a routine surgery. He was just one of those downright nice guys and will be sorely missed by many. We offer our sincerest condolences to those left behind. You can read his obituary in the Salt Lake Tribune.

Scarnecky is Back!

You may remember about a year ago, Stone Cold Magic stopped carrying one of it’s best e-books, Room 538 by Brad “Scarnecky” Gordon . . .

When we dropped the product, I got some polite “hate” mail asking to bring it back. Many people expressed their disappointment that I was no longer carrying it and that it would be a while before Brad made it available again.

We retired it because at the time, Brad was planning on selling it on his site. However, over time, the focus of his site has changed, so even though I thought Room 538 would be gone forever, Brad has generously offered to let us bring it back to the Stone Cold Magic Family of products!

Because of the demand for it and because of the change in Brad’s focus on his site, we are welcoming back this smooth, serenely styled scroll with a 40% discount.

Get Room 538 Now for only $15 bucks!

This offer ends on Friday (2/17/12) at 11:58 PM PST

As always, however, don’t take my word for it.

Check out what people are saying about Scarnecky’s Super Smooth Room 538:

I envision exciting, excellent effects when employing Envisage by Brad Gordon. ‘Reveal Your Design’ is a particularly promising piece with pasteboards for psychic precognition and readings. Get this!
– Dale A. Hildebrandt

After reading through Toddler Pack, I was really exciting about your thinking behind it. I have 2 girls, a 3 year old and a 9 month old that would create a background perfect for this. Very clever thinking and such a charming, disarming premise to present this cool effect.
– Bosco L

This is great material. I really like the psychological side of what you are doing.
-Jason P

In this day and age, it’s near impossible to come up with a new idea using playing cards. Enter Brad Gordon!
– Don Theo III

Hey Mr. Scarnecky I realy love your material.
– Riley B

There is lots of (ready to drive) material here. You also have 2 or 3 things I can’t remember seeing anywhere else. Unique, a word so corrupted in our public-school culture, certainly applies (in its original dictionary meaning) to these effects. Direct and commercial.
– Kevin K “Magic Doc”

I just wanted to write and thank you for this most excellent book, I love the wallet reading idea and used it last night as it works beautifully with a routine I use with tarot cards. I love monk and found bold matches very clever too, thank you.
– Dean D

I bought Envisage for the Wallet Readings, which I think is an excellent idea! But the Toddler Pack and Reveal Your Design are also great pieces. I rarely find ONE idea in a manuscript that I will use, in Envisage I found THREE!
– Ben Salinas

Luck of Astonishment (windfall): Being an avid Paul Harris fan (I have a framed picture of him under my pillow) I really enjoyed this creative add-on from Brad. Those familiar with PH’s effect “Shape of Astonishment” will really want to try this Scarnecky variation on an audience, and that I did. I must admit, I had never tried the original PH effect, but when done with a “twist of Scarnecky” there was a delightful TANG to the effect which left a bitter-sweet taste in my wife’s mouth. Not sure about others thoughts, but there is an almost spiritual mystery about foil and imprinting objects within it.
– Kambiz

The Butterflower: Very artistic. Zen-like simplicity and beauty
– Sean Waters

Remember gang. . . this welcome back price ends next week.

Order it Now.

This offer expires on Friday (2/17/12) at 11:59 PM PST

Win Free Magic Without Buying Stuff

In an effort to further encourage participation in the Magazine, we’re implementing a brand new contest/drawing. We’ll try it out for the month of February and see how it goes. The February winner gets a Karl Fulves three pack of books:

Self-Working Mental Magic
Self-Working Coin Magic: 92 Foolproof Tricks
Self-Working Handkerchief Magic

The game is simple: post comments on the articles for this month (or any past month). For every substantive post that you make, you’re name will be entered into a drawing. At the end of the month (on 3/1/12), a drawing for the three pack of books will be held. The more comments you make (must be posted before 2/29/12 11:59 PM PST), the more chances you have to win.

The post must be meaningful and contribute to the discussion. Simple statements of agreement or disagreement will not suffice. That’s it. Good luck to all. By the way, I own my own personal copy of each of these Fulves books, and they’re excellent, particularly the Mental Magic one . . . there is a ton of stuff that you’ll use.

Good luck folks! Enjoy The February 2012 Issue of Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

The post Monthly Prizes, Return of Scarnecky and The Loss of a Friend appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Ask Eugene Burger Anything!

Jeff Stone — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 00:08:20 +0000

Record Tarot Sales

Well folks . . . we did it. In just one short week, Spectral Chill/Tarot Below Zero out sold every single product (except for the Stone Frixion Fire E-book) in the history of Stone Cold Magic! Thank you all so much for your interest in the book. You made it a huge success. For the few of you who don’t yet have it, get it here: Tarot Below Zero.

Just for fun I thought I’d remind you all of the kooky saga story from February 2009 . . . Spectral Chill.

Interview with Eugene Burger

So . . . Eugene Burger has agreed to do a phone interview for Stone Cold Magic Magazine! Woo Hoo! I’d like to interview him for the March issue, so what do you want to ask him? Shoot me an email with whatever questions you want me to ask Eugene. I’ll try my best to squeeze ’em all in the phone call.

Goodbye to Brad Gordon’s E-book: Room 538

Stone Cold Magic will be discontinuing the sale of Brad’s Room 538. I knew this day would come – it’s how Brad and I planned it, but it’s still sad to see it go. As of this coming Thursday (3/3/11) at midnight, Room 538 will no longer be available at Stone Cold Magic, so for the send off party, we’re cutting the price to 50% off for the next couple of days. After that, it’s gone. If you’ve been waiting to get his book, stop waiting . . . it’s time now. At 11:59 PM PST on Thursday Night (3/3/11) this product will no longer be available. So order it now!

Brand New Site!

As you probably noticed, the Magazine Site has undergone a make over. With that make over comes streamlined code and improved functionality and features. Here are just a few:

You can now print any article as a pdf – on any article page, click the pdf icon in the upper right corner of the header
Social media integration – You can now share the articles on various social media sites . . . you’ll find the links at the bottom of each article
Archive Pages – You can now view the column archives and past issue archives by clicking on the appropriate links at the top right corner of the page
Subscribe to Comments – Subscribe to any article that you comment on and you’ll be immediately updated when a new comment is made . . . this keeps the article lively!
Home Page Updates – On the home page, you’ll now see a rotating list of the most recent articles in the most recent issue

Hopefully you’ll find the new updates useful. If you have any suggestions for improvements, please email me.
Enjoy the February Issue!

Jeffro

The post Ask Eugene Burger Anything! appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Ace Freely

Jeff Stone — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 00:07:03 +0000

Effect:

This is a killer four ace production. The deck is spread to show that all the cards are face-down. Then the magician cuts the cards, and suddenly two Aces appear.

Then the cards are spread face-down again, but one Ace has magically turned face-up. The three Aces that have appeared are spread face-down on the table. The deck is given to a spectator.

Both hands are shown empty, then both hands wave over the three tabled cards, and the fourth card just suddenly appears on the table with the other three. This is some powerful stuff.

Necessary Moves:

In order to do this effect, you will need to be able to do a handful of utility sleights. Fear not if you are not schooled in the ways of coin prestidigitation, for I will lead you grasshopper. Here’s the list of moves:

Double Undercut Card Control
Slip Cut
Braue Reversal
Brad Gordon’s Blip
The Anti-Vanish

If you are already familiar with these, you will still want to read them, because I’m using modified version of each move. I will explain each move first; then we will move on to the performance where we tie all of the moves together.

Double Undercut Card Control:

This is a simple method to move a card, or a stock of cards, from the top of the deck to the bottom of the deck without disturbing the rest of the pack. In our case, we want to control one card to the bottom. For now, it doesn’t matter what that card is; just look at the top card of the deck; that will be the card we are controlling. By the way, I know that your card that is on the top of your deck is the Five of Spades. I’ll teach you how I did that later.

Hold the deck in the left hand in dealer’s grip while holding the cards from above with the right hand in Deep Overhand Grip. With the right thumb, get a thumb break above the top card. Figure one shows the position your hands should be in right now.

Now with your right thumb riffle up the back of the deck and break the deck at about the half-way point (see fig. 2).

You will use your left hand to cut this “broken” packet from the bottom to the top of the deck. Figure three shows your position after this cut. Now cut the rest of the cards, below the break, to the top of the deck, and you will now have moved the top card to the bottom of the deck.

Slip Cut:

No, this has nothing to do with scissors and lady’s apparel. This is a move that is used to cut the top card into the center of the deck while looking like you gave the deck a legitimate straight cut (as opposed to a crooked cut).

However, we are going to use this in a slightly modified fashion. What follows is a description of the modified version. Hold the deck in the left hand dealer’s grip with right hand above in Deep Overhand Grip. With the right thumb, riffle up the back of the deck and break it at about the half-way point.

Get a left pinky break at this point. Basically, all you’ve done thus far is gotten a left little pinky break in the middle of the deck. You are about to pick up the top half of the deck (above the break) with your right hand, but as you do, your left thumb will place pressure on the top card of the deck.

While you pull the top half up and out, the top card will slip down onto the bottom half of the deck (see fig. 4).

Once the top half clears the deck, the top card will fall flat on the bottom half, however, your mission – should you chose to accept it, and you will – is to prevent that card from falling flush with the other cards. You will actually catch a left pinky break below it. Then you will drop the right hand’s packet onto the left hand’s packet.

Figure five shows the situation just before you drop the right hand’s packet onto the left hand’s packet.

Once you’ve completed this, you will have a break in the middle of the deck directly below what used to be the top card. Trust me; you’ll need to be able to do this in a minute.

Braue Reversal:

This is Fred Braue’s move that is a great way to get a card reversed in the middle of the deck right under the spectator’s nose, which is kind of disgusting if you think about it.

This move is very similar to the double undercut described earlier… you DID read it right? Fine… go back and read it… I’ll wait… no really… it’s ok… I’ll wait. Thank you; now don’t skip any more of the directions or you’ll have to go in time out.

Here’s the deal: hold the deck in the left hand’s dealer grip and right hand Deep Overhand Grip. Get a thumb break beneath the top card. This is the card that will end up reversed.

Riffle up the back of the deck and break it in half as if you are about to do a double undercut, and you are, but slightly different. With your left hand, take the bottom half of the deck (the part that is below the break) and turn it face-up on top of the deck (on top of the card that you are holding a thumb break beneath).

Figure six shows this with the face-up cards jogged to the left for clarity. In actual performance, you will square the cards flush. Notice, however, that you are still holding a break beneath that former top card.

Now the situation is that you have a block of face-up cards; below that is a face-down card which used to be the top card. You then have a thumb break, followed by the rest of the deck face-down. Take the part of the deck from the bottom (below the break) with your left hand and turn it face-up and replace it on the bottom of the deck. You can let go of your break now. You have just sandwiched the former top card face-down into a face-up deck.

Note About Double Undercut, Slip Cut, And Braue Reversal:

Notice that the above three moves are techniques that alter the state or location of the top card of the deck. The first move (double undercut) moves the top card to the bottom.

The second move (slip cut) moves the top card to the middle of the deck, and the Braue Reversal moves the top card to the middle of the deck and reverses it. Notice, also, that the rest of the deck’s order does not change when performing these moves. These moves are the bulk of the effect. This is where all the work is done.

Brad Gordon’s B’lip:

This is probably the best color change I’ve ever seen. A card is shown, and in the blink of an eye it changes visibly and instantly to another card. Having said that, I feel kind of dirty not using this move the way Brad intended it to be used.

It’s used in a more subtle way for this effect. Here’s the description of the Blip the way it was intended: Hold the deck in the left hand dealer’s grip. Turn the top card face-up. As you do, get a left pinky break beneath the second card. The position is that you have the deck in the left hand, and you are holding a left pinky break beneath two cards which are back-to-back. With the right hand, pick up the double from the outer right corners. As you do so, arch the cards (remember, the audience thinks this is one face-up card, not two back-to-back cards).

Figure seven shows the arch. Hold the arched double above the deck about four or five inches.

Now here comes the knacky part: quickly open the right hand releasing the pressure on the double. The cards will fall to the deck, but they will flip over sideways like a book, and by the time they land on the deck, the other card from the double will be showing.

This makes for a killer color change. The move is basically a squeeze-then-release-thing. It takes some practice to get the feel, but it’s fairly simple. You’ll like doing this move; it’s brilliant.

Here’s the dirty part. I told you I kind of use it for a different purpose. You’ll notice that when you do the move, the double stays together pretty well and remains undetected. I take advantage of this and use the move as a way to show a double lift as being only one card.

I turn over my double as you normally would a double (not a back-to-back). Then, I pick up the double with the face upward and execute the Blip. The result is the double flying down to the deck and turning face-down to match with the rest of the deck.

This creates the illusion of carelessly tossing a single card from your right hand to the awaiting deck of cards. We’ll be using that in a minute as well. Hang in there; we’re almost to the routine.

The Anti-Vanish:

The last move you need is my Anti-Vanish. This idea has to be in print somewhere, but I’ve never found it, so here it is: Place four cards in a pile on the table face-down (audience thinks it’s only three cards). Place your right hand on top of them to cover them completely. Now if you put pressure on the cards and spread to the right, the bottom three cards will spread, but the fourth (top) card will move with your hand to the right and remain concealed. Move your hand over to the right, and place your left hand to the left of the packet in the same manner as the right hand. In the Figure 8, the fourth card is concealed under my right hand.

Now if you tilt your right hand to the right ever so slightly, the card underneath will kind of pop up at a slight angle. Figure nine shows an exaggeration of this position.

You’ll need to use a close-up pad for the card to pop up the right way. Also, note that when you do this, the audience should never see the card under your right hand. They should be completely unaware of its existence.

Now all that is left is to move the right hand to the left and the left hand to the right. As you do this, your right hand’s card will go on top of the three spread cards.

This happens right about when your left hand is over your right hand. When you get to that point, spread your fingers wide open on both hands and immediately move them back to where they were (right hand to the right, and left hand to the right). When this is done properly, you will be in a position that looks like figure ten.

It will seem as if the fourth card appeared right on top of the three spread cards. This is quite a freaky illusion if you do it right. Just practice it a lot before doing it for anyone.

Routine:

Ok, let’s see if we can put all of this together. The above section was to get you familiar with all the necessary tools to perform the mechanics of the effect. Below, I will show you how to put the pieces together, but you will still need to work on your script. Make sure you really know the above moves well before you move on.

Step One:

In this step, we will get the four Aces on top of the deck in this order, from the top down: two red Aces, The Ace of Clubs, then The Ace of Spades. You can either do this before you start your performance or you can do it right in front of them. I usually just do it while they’re watching. It only takes a couple of seconds.

Step Two:

Now we need to distribute these Aces for our first production, so double under cut the top Ace to the bottom. This will leave the deck in this order, from the top down: Red Ace, Ace of Clubs, Ace of Spades, the whole deck, Red Ace. Next, slip cut the top Ace (red) to the center, but hold a break below it.

Now you should have this order: Ace of Clubs, Ace of Spades, half of the deck, Red Ace, right thumb break (or left pinky break – whichever you prefer), half of the deck, Red Ace. You can hold this situation in your left hand as you address the audience and gesture. It only takes a second to get to this position.

Step Three:

We are now going to reveal the first two Aces (red and red). We will use the Braue Reversal for this. While holding the left pinky break below the red Ace in the center, bring the right hand over and hold the deck in Deep Overhand Grip.

You will get a right thumb break above the top card (Ace of Clubs). Now you have two breaks and your situation is as follows: Ace of Clubs, right thumb break, Ace of Spades, half of the deck, Red Ace, left pinky break, rest of the deck, Red Ace. With the left hand, remove all of the cards below the pinky break and place them face-up on top of the deck this will reveal a Red Ace.

Next, take the cards below the thumb break and turn them face-up and replace them on the bottom, but leave them jogged to the left (see fig. 11).

You will now be holding no breaks, and you will be showing the two red Aces. Now remove the one from the center of the pack; place it face-up on the table, and square up the cards. Next remove the other red Ace from the face and place it on top of the one on the table.

Step Four:

Here is where we reveal the third Ace. Turn the deck face-down and spread the cards below the two red Aces, and the Ace of Clubs will be face-up in the center of the pack (see fig. 12).

Remove it, and place it face-up on the right end of the spread. Place the other two red Aces there as well (see fig. 13).

As you square up the cards, get a break below the fourth card from the top (The Ace of Spades). Immediately table the deck face-up with the left hand as the right picks up all four cards (audience thinks it’s only three). Ask the spectator to hold the deck for you.

Step Five:

Next, we need to really drive home the fact (?) that you are only holding three cards (even though it’s four). The spectator is holding the deck at this point. You have three Aces face-up in your right hand with The Ace of Spades face-down below them.

Hold them by their right edges. With the left thumb, peel off the top face-up Ace and revolve it around to the bottom of the packet as you say the name of the Ace (see fig. 14).

You will repeat this with the other two face-up Aces. At this point, most people will believe that there are only three cards, but you want to really eliminate the possibility of them thinking you had four, so that the next part is as powerful as possible. Here’s how you really convince them that you only have three cards. Turn the packet face-up. This will show The Ace of Clubs.

Peel it off and flip it face-down into the left hand. Peel off the second card (A Red Ace) the same way, leaving it face-down on top of the Ace of Clubs in your left hand. You are now left with a double in your right hand. The card showing is the other Red Ace. You will now execute Brad Gordon’s Blip. This will launch the card and turn it face-down landing on top of the two cards in the left hand. This really makes the spectators believe that you only had three cards.

Step Six:

This is the revelation of the fourth Ace. If you’ve followed everything I’ve said so far, you should have the four Aces in your left hand face-down (the audience believes it’s only three). The top Ace is the Ace of Spades. If this is not the situation you are in, go to your room, and don’t eat any supper.

Tomorrow, try again. Are you still here? Ok great. Now what you need to do is drop the three (?) cards onto the table in a pile and execute my Anti-Vanish Move exactly as described above. This will cause the fourth Ace to appear right in front of their eyes. Turn over all four cards to show them.

Presentation:

Here is the performance from the audience’s perspective. I’ll note the actions in parenthesis: For this effect, we need the four Aces. I can find them by cutting (Do Step Two). But I’ll show you a more flashy way (Do Step Three).

There’s Ace number one and Ace number two (remove red Aces and place on table). For the third one, all I have to do is snap my fingers, and it turns over (turn over and spread). There’s the Ace of Clubs (place on top of spread), Ace of Hearts, and Ace of Diamonds (place on top of Ace of Clubs).

I’ll take the three Aces; you take the deck (give deck to spectator or table it as you keep the three (?) Aces with your right hand). Here they are, one, two, three Aces (pivot each under packet; then turn packet face-up). That’s the Ace of Clubs (turn face-down into left hand), the Ace of Hearts (turn face-down into left hand), and the Ace of Diamonds (do the Blip).

The only one missing is the big one, The Ace of Spades (drop cards to table in a pile). Here are the three (spread, concealing the fourth Ace). All I have to do to make the fourth one leave the deck is wave my hands over these three (do The Anti-Vanish), and the Ace of Spades appears (turn over all four cards to show the Aces; then go into a four Ace routine).

Notes:

The above presentation was not an attempt to give you words to say during your presentation of this effect. It was an attempt to give you a flow of how the effect will be performed. You will need to use your own script. Master the mechanics first; then work on creating a presentation that works for you.

Also, remember, this is a four Ace production, so once you’ve produced the Aces, you’ll need to do something with them. Do a four Ace routine. Also, you may have noticed that there is no figure three… don’t panic, it’s been removed on purpose.

This is an awesome effect on lay people and many magicians. Each of the moves described in this effect are merely tools in the magicians tool belt. Use them for this effect, but don’t be afraid to experiment.

Use them to inspire your own routines, or use them to enhance effects that you already do. However, make sure you practice these moves, and please, for the sake of the *Art of Astonishment, don’t ruin it by performing it prematurely.

Oh if you were wondering how I knew that your top card was a Five of Spades, you have been scammed. If you are not wondering how I knew your top card was a Five of Spades, it’s because your top card wasn’t a Five of Spades.

However, for those of you who happened to be the lucky 1 in 52 who did have the Five of Spades on top, well… you thought I was psychic. Chalk it up to luck, but I astonished you! Remember that feeling. That’s what we’re trying to instill in our audience.

The post Ace Freely appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Secrets Revealed

Jeff Stone — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 00:08:56 +0000

Genii Publishes Stone Cold Magic

You heard right folks. In the January 2011 (The Houdini Issue) Issue of Genii Magazine published my effect Burnin’ Time from Stone Frixion Fire. The write up, By David Acer, is on page 22. If you don’t have that issue, get it: Genii January 2011.

Discontinuing E-Book – HUGE Discount

As of January 7th, 2011 the Stone Cold Magic E-book will no longer be available individually. You will only be able to get it with Stone Cold Magic DVD. However, until the 7th, I’m offering it for nearly 70% Off!

You can get it now for only $4.95. That’s the best price you’re ever gonna see on this product. Get it now, because after January 7th, 2011, you won’t be able to get it at all (unless you buy the DVD).

Or order the Stone Frixion Fire E-Book and get the Stone Cold Magic E-Book For Free!

Brand New Version of Stone Frixion Fire

The Stone Frixion Fire e-book has been updated and is now on its third edition! In the past, the printed version of the book (sold at my lectures and retailers) was a bit different from the electronic version. It keeps on selling out, so with the last wholesale reorder, I totally revamped the book and decided to make the electronic version and the printed version the same. The electronic version now has:

A ton of updated content
Brand new effects from Mike Skutt, Chris Kavanaugh and Dan Paulus
Forewords By Jay Sankey and Brad Gordon
A ton of other things

Those of you who have already purchased the e-book (from me, Lybrary, Hidden Bookshelf or Elmwood) can log in to your accounts and re-download the book for free. Unless you bought it within the past 2 weeks, you’ve got the older version, so you’ll want to update it for free.

Everyone else who hasn’t ordered it already, now’s the time folks: Stone Frixion Fire E-Book. If you order it now, you’ll get the Stone Cold Magic E-Book for FREE!

Order Now!

A New YouTube Video Every Day!

Many of you know my friend Eric LeClerc. He was one of the guest artists (along with myself and Joe Diamond) on Jay Sankey’s Underground Jam. Eric is hosting a brand new show on YouTube . . . Project 365. He will be posting a brand new trick on YouTube every single day for the entire year of 2011! Check out his new channel and subscribe to it: The Lecleric Show.

Secrets Revealed

Last month, the Roots and Branches article was all about secrets. If you haven’t read it yet, make sure you do. It’s a great Q&A session with Me and Brad Gordon: Secrets. At the end, I told you to stay tuned for the December issue where I would reveal the biggest secret of all . . . where here it is. My wife is pregnant with #5. It’s a girl, and she’s due on April 15th, 2011. How’s that for an awesome secret.

The post Secrets Revealed appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Free Magic DVDs and E-Books

Jeff Stone — Mon, 31 May 2010 00:08:06 +0000

Free Stone Frixion Fire!

Yep. You read correctly. You want a free copy of my latest DVD, Stone Frixion Fire? It’s yours. Of course there’s a catch, but it’s easy. All you have to do is post a review of the DVD.

Order the DVD from Stone Cold Magic.
Post a review on the Review Page.
I’ll reimburse you the entire cost of the DVD.

In fact, I’ll extend that offer to anyone of the following products:

Stone Cold Magic DVD
Stone Cold Magic E-Book
Gemstones DVD
Stone Frixion Fire E-Book
Stone Frixion Fire DVD
Underground Jam Download 4 Pack (You must review all four effects)

That’s it. The “fine print” is simple:

The product(s) must be ordered from Stone Cold Magic.
The product(s) must be purchased on or after May 31, 2010
You must post the Review by 11:59 PM MST on June 30, 2010
Does not apply to Brad Gordon’s New E-Book, Room 538.
That’s it!

If you buy all of the products above and you review them all by June 30, 2010, then you will be reimbursed for every single product. I will extend this offer to as many people who choose to participate. There are no restrictions to the number of participants. There’s no reason not to do this folks. Especially when you combine it with the following offer.

$10 Off any purchase over $29!

Use the coupon code below before June 5th (this Saturday) and receive $10.00 off on any order over $29. Now is a great time to get a couple of DVDs or a couple of e-books, especially considering that if you review them you’ll get your money back anyway. Coupon code for $10 off: JuneTen$OFF

Brand New From Brad “Scarnecky” Gordon!

Brad’s latest e-book, ROOM 538, is a must have for any serious student of the mind and/or human behavior as it relates to magic and mentalism. As you read the presentations found in this book, the thought of serenity and peace will constantly enter your mind. These presentations are magical in and of themselves. This is a perfect insight into the mind of Brad Gordon. You’ll find some old classics from his past works, Troika, Envisage, and Clever 8 along with some amazing new effects and presentational ideas. You don’t want to miss this e-book gang. 94 pages of pure genius! ROOM 538 – ORDER IT NOW! Don’t forget to use the coupon above.

Will Jeff Ever Actually Release the Tarot Book?

Yes! I promise. Recently my basement got flooded by the City Sewer System. Luckily it was the city’s fault, so they’re paying for everything. However, it’s turned our life upside down. My kids are all living in the upstairs family room while the basement is out of commission, so needless to say, the Tarot book took a small hiatus. But we’re not far . . . hang in there.

Stone Cold Genii?

Nothing’s set in stone yet, but David Acer has asked for permission to publish an effect from Stone Frixion Fire in an upcoming issue of Genii Magazine. The who, what, when, where, why and how has yet to be determined. I’ll keep you posted.

Stone Frixion Fire Secret Site

Remember that if you order Stone Frixion Fire you get access to a secret website with extra bonus content. Recently I’ve added some new material to the site . . . contributions by:

Mike Skutt
Brad Gordon
Dan Paulus

If you own the DVD and haven’t gone to the site yet, what are you waiting for? It’s free! If you don’t own the DVD, get it! It gives you access to the site. That’s a lot of news folks . . . Enjoy the rest of this issue . . . see y’all in a month.

The post Free Magic DVDs and E-Books appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

(Fri)X(ion) Marks the Spot

Brad "Scarnecky" Gordon — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:07:27 +0000

Written By Jeff Stone

The all time best-selling Stone Cold Magic Product is by far . . . Stone Frixion Fire. The biggest thing people have told me they’ve liked about this book is that it got their creative juices flowing. The book is full of full blown routines as well as random untested ideas. Ideas lead to more ideas. Because of this, as mentioned in the news section this month, we’re doing a DVD on the Frixion pen, so to get everyone juiced about the upcoming DVD, I thought I give you an effect from the book.

This is one that Brad Gordon came up with. It’s one that isn’t a full routine, but gives you room for creating your own presentation. For an effect that is a fully fleshed out routine from the book, see the July 2009 Free Monthly Magic Trick, Money To Burn.

Here’s an email word-for-word from Brad. We were talking about a gig that Diamond Jim did as a Pirate Character, and here’s what Brad had to say:

Diamond Jim Davis reminded me of pirates and I personally love maps (all kinds, pirate kind especially). So you have a large map and the last clue tells you to hold the map in the sun at high noon – well it’s not noon right now and we are indoors, so let’s use a match/lighter to simulate the sun. The map is actually folded [and heated] (yep the ink will all vanish when the paper is folded into fourths). Map is unfolded to show the finale X marks the spot or something of that nature.

I just whipped up a quick drawing based on Brad’s idea. Feel free, obviously, to make yours a bit better. You get the idea and, of course, remember: RED = Frixion® Ink. BLUE = Normal Ink. Start with a drawing like the one above. Then after waiting for the ink to dry (remember the trip to Phoenix), modify it with Frixion® ink to look something like the smaller drawing below (note: the image below is showing only a portion of the image above)

With the two drawings shown, you have a final product that looks like the trail on the map passes by a large rock and leads back to where you started. However after using makeshift sunlight (lighter), the real map and “X” marking the spot is reveled.

Rather than an “X” you could reveal a previously selected card or any other prediction. The presentation could be focused on giving the spectator a treasure map because you couldn’t find the chosen card. Then as you show the treasure map, you “realize” that it just goes in circles. Then you again “realize” that a warning to “View Map in Sunlight” has been placed upon the map. Apply heat for you makeshift sunlight, and behold the treasure (a.k.a. the selection) is revealed.

Please Take a Moment to Reply To and “like” This Effect.

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Creative Genius

Jeff Stone — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 05:02:14 +0000

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, 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:

Michael Finney’s Card On Forehead:

View On YouTube

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:

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:

Stone Cold Crazy Kids:

Please take a moment to reply to and “like” this article

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Coming Soon!

Jeff Stone — Mon, 25 May 2009 06:07:30 +0000

Lectures

There is a slight possibility that I’ll be doing a mini lecture tour in July. I’m still working out the details. If you think your club might be interested, check out my lecture site.

Stone Frixion Fire

Keep your eyes peeled for this one. My latest E-Book will be released in June 2009. This is one you won’t want to miss. The short version: a ton of killer ideas and routines with Frixion Pens! Stay tuned for more.

Spectral 2.0

With the help of Diamond Jim and a few others, my effect Spectral Chill from my Stone Cold Magic DVD has been launched into a new orbit. I’ll be releasing this as its own E-Book this summer. For those of you who’ve tried Spectral Chill, you know that this effect truly freaks people out. It gives people the chills, hence the name.

Multiply whatever impact you’ve had with this routine by 10, and you might start to scratch the surface of what’s been done to this concept.

Gemstones Site Update

For the few of you who haven’t jumped on board yet and ordered Gemstones, you’re missing out. I’ve completely overhauled the DVD companion site for Gemstones. Not only have I overhauled it, but there are a ton of killer ideas from:

Jay Sankey
Wesley James
Liam Montier
Donny Orbit
Brad Gordon
Darrin Cook
Joe Diamond

Just to name a few. If you don’t own Gemstones, what the heck are you waiting for! If you already own it, then you already have access to the free site!

20 Free Copies of Envisage: Three Visionary Possibilities

My good friend Brad “Scarnecky” Gordon has authorized me (after a lot of begging) to give away 20 free copies of his latest E-Book, Envisage. All you’ve got to do to get one is order something off of Stone Cold Magic. That’s it. If you order anything, you’ll have an option to download Envisage. Check out the contents:

Toddler Pack

An idea which breathes versatility to its fullest. Imagine a pack of cards which has been destroyed by a toddler and then being able to still perform a miracle or two. This concept expands WAY above suspicion, allowing you to do things generally out of reach with a normal pack of playing cards.

Reveal Your Design

Originally structured to NOT really be a “trick” at all. Five different blue backed cards (with completely different back designs) are removed and displayed as keep sakes to remind you of your card trick days. One is freely pointed out by your participant, and a warm explanation of that particular back design and how it connects to your spectator is given. Simple, direct, a very stress free ice breaker to be sure.

Wallet Readings

Has impact written all over it. You are having dinner with a small group of people. A chance meeting with a stranger prompts you to remove your wallet which contains a folded piece of paper with her initials written on it. She opens it to find a distinctive reading which has been waiting for her safely tucked away in your wallet for years.

693 (Windfall)

This is a completely out your hands experiment where your spectator does all of the work. After isolating one card completely free of choice, you the magician still manage to successfully predicted the outcome. I have fooled my fellow conjurers with this one.

Positive Dollar (Windfall)

If you happen to be a fan of the effect Positive Negative by Max Maven, this utility item should be immediately added to your wallet. Warning, you will need to have a previous understanding of Positive Negative as it is respectfully not explained in this book.

Luck of Astonishment (Windfall)

Based on the delightful effect Shape of Astonishment by Paul Harris, this little addition to a quarter will add a whole new dimension to this plot. Again you must have a previous understanding of Shape of Astonishment to understand this bonus idea.

You don’t want to miss this. After 20 free copies, it’s over. Update: 7/22/09 – Sorry gang. These have been gone for a while now.
Enjoy the rest of the newsletter!

Jeff

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Brand New E-book and Huge Sale!

Jeff Stone — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 05:07:22 +0000

Brand New Stone Cold Magic Site:
This has been a crazy month! Probably the biggest news is the brand new Stone Cold Magic site. I’ve been working on this thing F.O.R….E.V.E.R.!!!!!! It’s finally done. It’s a totally new layout and design… much easier to manage (good for me), and automatic instant download of virtual products (good for you).

Brand New E-Book and HUGE E-Book Sale!

An improvement on a Paul Harris Trick? Say it isn’t so! Yep. Believe it or not, Brad Gordon has come up with an improvement on The Shape of Astonishment by Paul Harris.

Luck of Astonishment is one of several incredible effects in his latest E-book, Envisage: Three Visionary Possibilities. It will only be available from Stone Cold Magic Until April 15th. After that, it will be permanently removed from the site, so if you want it, Get it Now!

On April 15th, Brad’s 3 incredible E-Books will no longer be available From Stone Cold Magic. Although Troika and Envisage will be available directly from Brad after the 15th, Clever 8 will not. In fact, Clever 8 will go the way of the Dinosaur after April 15th. It will no longer be available anywhere.

So if you’re going to get your hands on Brad’s work, now is the time. Order them in Group Bundles and save anywhere from 25% to 31% off of the retail price!

In conjunction with this, Stone Cold Magic is also on sale for 25% off until April 15th. Now is the best time to get your hands on E-Books!

FREE MAGIC On The Gemstones Website!
For those who’ve purchased Gemstones, you are well aware of the secret site with all of the extras. I’ve added quite a bit of new stuff this month, and will continue to do so in the future. I’ve got, coming up, some really cool presentational ideas from Wesley James as well as more free magic.

Currently on the site, I’ve added the performance and explanation video clips of Dream Vacation from my performance on Jay Sankey’s Underground Jam. This effect works well with Quasiphoto from Gemstones. Also, I’ve created a new page called “New Stuff.” This is where you want to keep checking. Every time I update the site, I’ll update that page.

Remember, you need the username and password to access this site. The only way to, legally and ethically, get that is to purchase a copy of Gemstones. It comes with the username and password. Gemstones is currently on sale right now, until the 15th of April for 15% off! Get it now and get access to the Secret Gemstones Site.

Updating past articles:
Occassionally when I’m writing an article for the newsletter, I’ll referrence old articles. Often when I reference these old articles, I get ideas on updates to the articles. This month, I added a few paragraphs and ideas to the Janary 2009 Roots and Branches article, The Transition. I’m not going to tell you what I added. It’s a great article, you should read the whole thing again anyway!

Enjoy the rest of this month’s issue! There is a ton of great stuff!

Thank you!

Jefferson Stonewall Jackson

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Other Sites

Jeff Stone — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 10:07:24 +0000

Gemstones Teaser:
Due to the holiday rush, and a few circumstances beyond my control, Gemstones has not quite made it to the replicators. However, the master is done, and should be off to the replicators in January 2009. Hang in there gang. Thanks for your patience.

Here’s some exciting news, however. With the purchase of Gemstones, when it becomes available, you will have access to a website specifically for people who own the DVD. Much of the content is password protected, but the password comes with the DVD. I will be doing this with all future DVD projects.

The site will contain alternate handling ideas, bonus effects, downloads of props needed to perform some of the effects. The site will constantly be updated so that the DVD will live on with updated content always available online.

The site is live now. You can see a teaser of the DVD, but it is still not available for purchase yet.

Check it out: Gemstones Site

Stone, Frixion, Fire Update:
So much for my ability to predict the future. I thought that Stone, Frixion, Fire would be available in December… not quite. Thanks again for the patience. Hang in there.

Clever 8:
The Clever 8 sale is now over. The official e-book is now selling at it’s regular price of $24.95. Also, for those who have purchased the hard copy, we’ve got good news.

Get The Stone Cold Magic E book Before the Price Goes Up!
As a test, I released an ebook containing 9 of the 17 effects from my Stone Cold Magic DVD. The test was to offer it at a large discount and apply the price to the DVD for those who later may purchase the DVD.

Rather than bore you with the details of the test, I’ll just give you the punch line. The test is over. As of January 16th, 2009, I will no longer be offering the E-book for $6.99. The price will be going up to $19.95. Also, at that point, the price of the Ebook will no longer be applied to purchase price of the DVD.

So if you want to get the ebook for only $6.99, and would like the cost to be applied to a future purchase of the Stone Cold Magic DVD, then order now! On January 16th, 2009, this deal will no longer exist. Anyone who purchases before then will be entitled to the $6.99 credit toward the DVD provided that they purchase the DVD sometime in 2009. After that, it’s over.

I will, however, continue to give it away for free with the purchase of the DVD.

Get the E-Book now for only $6.99.

Elmwood Magic:
I just wanted to take a minute and recognize someone who is a huge asset to the magic community. His name is Paul Richards. I met Paul about 12 years ago at a convention in Connecticut. You, likely are familiar with his website, www.elmwoodmagic.com. Elmwood has a ton of great original products.

One of my all time favorites is Balloon-a-trick. There are many, many, many more. I just wanted to make everyone aware of a great magic site and creator out there, Paul Richards. Check out the Elmwood Family of Sites:

I’ve got other sites you know:
Finally for those who are interested, I do have a few other sites out there.

Check out my My Space page for a more personal view and less magical view of Mr. Stone Cold Magic.

Check out my You Tube page.

Check out my Face Book page to meet a bunch of other magicians and even some people I went to High School with.

On my Blog, you can read my rants about everything from recent gigs to the inner dialogue of the Ace of Spades.

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