You might remember back in the February Issue of The Saga that I tipped my secret to writing The Saga stories each month. I wrote one on the spot to show my son Michael how I did it. A few moments later, he took a crack at writing one. We’ve saved it to come forth this month, so ladies and gentlemen I present to you my son, Michael Stone and his debut (and only other person in the Universe to write a Saga story besides me) as a “The Saga” writer . . .

A long time ago in Hoyletown, there lived a pack of magic keys. These weren’t just any regular magic keys. They were special magical-keys. They were used to open magic doors in other magical places. But, they were also used for a trick called “Key-Oh-Nee Buh-Lo-Nee” Just like the magical powers of the keys, this magic trick isn’t just a normal magic trick.

Occasionally, some of the best magicians in the world will come to Hoyletown (Specifically Jeff Stone, as it’s known throughout the town of bicycle that he’s the best magician of all time) and collect three of the magical keys, and takes them back to whatever place that magician came from. Sounds like a bunch of Key-Oh-Nee Buh-Lo-Nee to me.

Get all of my Underground Jam Videos!

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So I named this trick for him. It just so happens that his birthday is this month, so the timing of the release of this Saga Story is perfect . . .

What’s black and white and lame all over . . . yep a chess board. Or rather a chess “bored.” Yeah, I’m a nerd, and I like rubik’s cubes, and magic, and math, but chess? Really? Nobody’s that nerdy? Well maybe some people are, but they’re nerds! Wait . . . wasn’t that my point!? I have no idea what I’m talking about.

All I know is that I’m stuck on this stupid checker board. I’m supposed to be the boss, but I’m only allowed to move a little bit at a time, one step at a time unless, some lame-o “castle” who has pretty much free reign of the lair, decides that he wants to be near me . . . then fine . . . he lets me move 2 steps.

I thought I was the king . . . then along comes Stone Cold Magic and somehow a card trick – It is an amazing card trick – takes over the world of Kingside Castling and suddenly my little “knights” near the castle are over. I’ll get you Stone Cold Magic. Curse you . . . I’ve now been shifted from checkerboard to Hoyletown . . . [shudder] [shiver] . . .

The post Kingside Castling appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

This is also one of the effects that I used to audition for Jay Sankey’s Underground Jam. Though I created the effect many moons ago, no saga story was ever written until now. Enjoy the drug-free acid trip that is Little People:

Pickles, Playing Cards, Wrestlers and now bowling. . . when will the hurting stop. Why must people continue to mock me. Am I some kind of bird that they’re trying to kill? That’s our motto. It does not deserve to be mocked, ridiculed or looked down upon. Just because we were born in thumb tips and card cases does not mean that we are weak. We follow in the footsteps of our giant leader, Verne Troyer. We ride our Grasshopper’s with pride. We Live In The Tiny Lifestyle Exultantly. We are the Little People.

The post Little People appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

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.

For the next three days (during the Underground Jam video shoot), I (along with Eric Lelerc and Joe Diamond) got to hang out with Jay in various settings . . . in the hotel/studio, at restaurants, in a cab, at his house, etc. Everywhere we went he was the same. He was crazy, funny, witty, brilliant and magical.

Hold That Thought . . .

I’ve never met Criss Angel, but I know of a few people who have, and many of them have said the same basic thing about him: for better or for worse, everywhere he goes, he’s the “guy from Mindfreak,” Criss Angel the” superstar,” the man women want and men want to be. Everywhere he goes he acts like the whole room is there to see him, which is exactly how he acts on his show. Don’t hear me wrong . . . I’m neither criticizing nor complimenting Angel. I’m merely pointing out an observation that many people have claimed to have made. I can’t speak from experience on this one, but for the point I’m making, hearsay will do just fine.

Now, back to Jay . . .

Eric, Joe and I all made the observation that Jay is “Always On.” Assuming what people have said about Angel is true, he, too is “Always On.”  Whether you like or dislike Jay’s or Angel’s character is irrelevant . . . they are always in character. On other occasions that I’ve hung out with Jay and his family, he was even “on” with his kids. It wasn’t an act; it’s who he is.

If I didn’t know Jay or Angel and I saw either of them perform on stage or at a show, and then I ran into either of them in public, I would see the exact same person in person that I saw on stage. They’re always on. Another way to say that is that they are always representing their character or better said, their business. When they are “on,” they are selling themselves and their business. Whether or not the product that they’re selling (themselves) is good or bad is a whole other discussion, but for this article we are examining the fact that they are selling a product, not the product itself.

I used to, a long time ago, wear a button on my denim jacket that said, “Do you wanna see a card trick?” Sure it’s cheesy and definitely not my style anymore. However, a lot of people asked me to show them a card trick, and it gave me experience, exposure and potential business. However, there was a downside. I wasn’t always “on” when I went out. Sometimes I was tired, cranky, hungry, whatever, and I didn’t feel like doing a card trick. Flash forward a few years . . .

Sometimes late at night I need to run to the grocery store. I’m tired, not dressed and am in need of a haircut . . . so I throw on a pair of sweats, a ratty old t-shirt and a ball cap . . . a ball cap that just so happens to say “Stone Cold Magic” on it. I go in the grocery store, dressed like a bum (or as my kids say, a “hobo”) and that is the image I’m portraying to my public. Someone sees my hat and says, “What’s Stone Cold Magic?” I’m afraid to answer . . . “well, sir, I’m a magician who doesn’t care what he looks like and thus will not be a valuable asset to you at a gig you might hire me for.”

Although I certainly wouldn’t say those words, I would definitely communicate those words by my appearance. So what’s the point? You’re reading this column because you want to learn more about the business side of magic; am I right? Part of business is advertising, marketing, etc. That means, in simple terms, you must be “Always On.”

Care about your appearance, your “aroma,” your grooming, your attitude, your posture. Look confident in public. Be someone whom they – they being people you meet in public – would want to hire . . . be “On!”

Until Next Month . . .

Please take a moment to “Like” this article below and post a comment. Thanks!

The post Always On appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Evil Has Infiltrated Stone Cold Magic

Yep. You heard it hear first folks. Jeff Stone’s latest product, Stone Frixion Fire, is a product of the Devil. I found a thread on some non-magic forum that claims that Frixion pens are evil. Bizarre folks . . . Truly Bizarre.

The post Demonic Pens appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

Back in the day, my debut to the magic community was a project I did with Jay Sankey, Underground Jam. The DVD was a huge hit, and is completely sold out everywhere. You can’t even get it from Jay.

I can’t get you the whole DVD, but I can get you my 5 contributions!

• Jacked Up
• Key-Oh-Nee-Buh-Lo-Nee
• Dream Vacation
• Kingside Castling
• The Coolest Ace Trick in The World

Underground Jam and my material in particular seemed to have struck a chord with a ton of magicians out there. If you don’t already own it, now is your chance.

Order Now!

Working with Jeff on Underground was a treat. He’s a real pro with a great sense of humor. I also really respect his knowledge of card magic. A serious student. – Jay Sankey

Jeff Stone has two killer vanishes on there, and “Jacked Up” is a great routine.– Cameron Francis

Jeff Stone is an excellent performer and thinker and it shows on this DVD – Chris Kavanaugh

“Jacked Up” is an easy yet mind-blowing find the aces (or jacks) with a color changing deck climax. I find that Jeff Stone is my favorite contributor. He has great ideas, including a novel key routine with a killer vanish. His use of the film cannister really got me thinking, and it’s the thought-provoking ideas that make DVD’s worthwhile to me, the sort of thinking that has you digging up props because an idea (or several) just occurred to you. – Darrin Cook

Jeff’s work is STUNNING!!! It overshadows the others. Jeff is the star of the show in my opinion. – Kip Stevens

Order Now and you get an instant download of the performance for each effect, the Explanation video downloads for each effect, plus three bonus videos:

The original audition footage I sent to Jay:

• Key-oh-nee-buh-lo-nee (alternate version – Performance only)
• Kingside Castling (alternate version – Performance only)
• Dream Vacation (alternate/extended version – Performance only)

Additionally you get two instant download e-books:

• Kingside Castling (full color with photos – 26 pages plus alternate presentation)
• Stone Cold Magic (9 killer card effects taken from the SCM DVD – 78 pages)

That’s a total of 13 videos (8 performances and 5 explanations) plus 2 e-books! A total of 15 instant downloads and a total of 14 effects ALL FOR ONLY $10 BUCKS!– Order Now!

You’ve got nothing to lose. Even if you never perform a single one of these effects, the theory section in the Stone Cold Magic Ebook is worth twice what you’re paying.

I’m only giving this away at such a cheap price for a few days. Wednesday Night (June 30, 2010) at 11:59 PM MST, this is gone. Each of these sold individually would cost almost $50.00 total. I’m giving it away for only $10 bucks!

What have you got to lose?

Remember, this offer ends Midnight Wednesday Night.

Order Now!

Thank You All for your magical support!

Jeff Stone

The post 15 Instant Downloads for Only $10 Bucks Total! appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

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.

1. Order the DVD from Stone Cold Magic.
2. Post a review on the Review Page.
3. 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:

1. The product(s) must be ordered from Stone Cold Magic.
2. The product(s) must be purchased on or after May 31, 2010
3. You must post the Review by 11:59 PM MST on June 30, 2010
4. Does not apply to Brad Gordon’s New E-Book, Room 538.
5. 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.

Four Kings are shown and the deck is placed aside.  The four Kings vanish one at a time, and then reappear in a flashy manner.

Preparation

Remove the four Kings from the deck and place the deck aside. Place it in front of you and to the right.  Place it in a somewhat sloppy and not-so-squared manner.  Arrange the Kings with two reds sandwiching two blacks.  I usually follow The Coolest Ace Trick In The World with this effect.

Performance

Hold the packet of Kings face up.  Turn over a double face down onto the two other face up cards.  You’ve apparently turned over a single red Ace.  Next, turn the entire packet over.  You now have, from the top down, red face down, black face down, red face up, black face up.The audience thinks that only one card is face up.  Next, perform the glide to show the second from the bottom card (apparently the bottom card which the audience thinks you turned over a second ago).  (See fig. 1).

This next move is going to visually change the red King into a black King.  Here’s how:  Place the protruding face up King into the lower most crease of the middle finger of the right hand.  At the same time, the right middle finger gently touches the bottom card (face up black card). (See fig. 2).

Note: figure 2a is the upside down exposed view; figure 2b is the normal view.

Now quickly, but carefully push the red card flush with the deck, and at the same time, move your right hand back to the right bringing the black King into view.  Apparently the red King quickly becomes the black King.  Be careful not to drop the King with your left hand.

Now remove the black King as follows.  Grasp it from above by the outer edges with the right thumb and middle finger tips (see fig. 3).

Then with the right index finger on the face, snap the card face down by releasing the middle finger grip and pinching the card between the index finger and the thumb.  Then place the card face down on the bottom.  The situation is as follows:  from top to bottom, face down red, face down black, face up red (the vanished red) and face down black.

Now turn the pack face up and spread the bottom two cards to the left holding the back to back double in place with your right middle finger and thumb (see fig. 4).

Now with your right hand, place the double, black side up, on top of the deck as you draw attention to the two remaining cards in your left hand.  You’ll say, “let’s put this one aside for a minute, and we’ll just use these two.”  This ditches the “vanished” red card onto the top of the deck.

Now you have two Kings in your left hand.  Using the tent vanish, vanish one of the Kings: Hold the cards as in figure 5.

As the right hand comes over to apparently grab the card resting on your thumb, the card is simply released and falls flush with the card in your left palm.  Make sure your left thumb holds its position as you move your right hand away with the apparently palmed card.

Close your right hand and reopen it to show that the card (that was never there) has vanished.  Now you have a double (apparently only one card) in your left hand and a single card face up on top of the deck.  Next, transfer the double to the right hand.

Display the card (double) as shown in figure 6.  Then with the left hand, pick up the face up King from the deck and display it in the left hand the same way you are displaying your right hand double.

Now say, “We’re down to two cards.  Let me show you something interesting with the King of Clubs (or whichever King is showing in your right hand). If I place it on the bottom of the deck, it will actually rise to the top.”

As you say this, here’s what you do.  In an act to scoot the deck closer to you, place the double face down on the deck and slide it toward yourself.  Once you’ve moved it a few inches toward yourself, lift the top (single) card off of the deck (don’t show its face to the audience) and slide it under the deck.

Then riffle the back of the deck, and turn over the top card to show that the card apparently rose to the top.  You have now made it appear as if the face up card you were holding in your right hand just went from the bottom to the top of the deck.  This is your sneaky way of ditching the unwanted half of the double.

Now you have two cards left, and you’re going to vanish one of them by using my variation of the tent vanish;  I call it the open flap vanish .  It’s very similar to the original tent vanish, however, it’s done face up.

Now obviously  for a face up vanish, you can’t just let the card fall flush with the card in your hand, so instead of letting the card fall, you’re going to execute a one handed cut, or the Charlier pass.

Basically, you use your left index finger to push the card on your left palm up and over the top of the card in “tent” position (see fig. 7).

Then you let both cards fall flat on your palm.  All of this is done under guise of your right hand apparently grabbing the face up King and palming it.  You again squeeze the right hand shut then open to reveal the vanish.  You’re now left with a face up double in the left hand.

Now grab the double face from above with the right hand middle, ring and pinky fingers at the top, index finger on the back, and thumb on the bottom (see fig. 8).

Show the “last” King to the audience.  Shift the position of the index and pinky fingers to the outside edges of the deck and remove the thumb (see fig. 9).

Now reach forward in front of the deck and slide the double under the deck, and immediately flip it over into the left hand.  You were merely using the “last card” to pick up the deck.  Now hold the deck face down from above in Deep Overhand Grip with the right hand.

Using the left thumb, pivot the bottom card (“last King”) up and over the left edge of the deck and face up onto the deck (see fig. 10).

This displays the face up “last King” on top of the face down deck.  As you’re doing this, you’re recapping with the audience what has happened this far.  Now you are going to vanish the top card by using the Houdini Color Change as follows.  Hold the deck in left hand dealer’s grip.  Now cover the entire deck with your right hand.

As you do, your right finger tips will ever so slightly up jog the top face up King.  You want this to be as undetectable as possible.  Next, draw your right hand down to expose this slightly up jogged King.

As you expose this card, use the base (where the fingers and palm connect) of your right fingers to slide the second card from the top (the one below the face up card) down (see fig. 11).

It will remain concealed under your palm.  You will continue sliding it until it clears the face up card.  Then you will apply pressure slightly downward with your right palm.  This will cause the second card to kind of be palmed.  Then you will simply lower the “palmed” card onto the face up card.

You will then slide it forward as your left index finger squares up the up jogged face up card (see fig. 12).

Then you will remove your right hand to reveal that the last King is gone.  All you’ve done is placed a face down card on top of it. Now you are left with no Kings.  You can either stop here or you can quickly and visually reproduce the Kings in such a way that will even trip up the most skilled card men.

Reproduction

The deck is now stacked as follows two Kings on the bottom, two Kings on the top (the second from the top is face up).  For the first production, slip cut to reveal the face up King.  Place this packet off to the right. Now in your left hand is a small packet of cards with one face down King on top and two on the bottom.  Hold pressure on the top and bottom cards as you toss the pack to the right hand.

This will maintain the top and bottom cards in your left hand while the center of the deck lands in your right hand.  Place the right hand’s packet face up on the table next to the other King. Then simply turn over the two Kings in the left hand.  This is all done in less than a second. It’s very flashy.

Notes

The first King that you produced by means of a slip cut is in an interesting situation.  It’s face up on a face down deck, but this will slip right past your audience. In fact, you’ll even fool yourself if you’re not careful.  This leaves you in a position to do something with a reversed deck without having to reverse the deck because it’s already done for you.  I’ll leave the creating up to you.

Earlier I mentioned that I usually perform this after The Coolest Ace Trick In The World. You can find that effect of mine on Jay Sankey’s Underground Jam. It’s also the October 2007 Free Trick of The Month. It’s also available as an instant download for only $3.99 on StoneColdMagic.com.

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

The post Dethroned appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.

However, at one point I was going to call the effect “Exposure” as a play on words because the effect involves a 35 mm film canister. Also, at the same time my good friend and Stone Cold Maigc artist had created the drawing you see to the right. The drawing was for something else he was working on, but I thought it was perfect . . . a Mexican . . . a Mexican Peso . . . Perfect! Based on this drawing and the original title “Exposure,” I created, in 2003-ish, this month’s episode of The Saga:

Wow.  That was weird man.  I was just sitting here minding my own business and suddenly I see a strange flash before my eyes.  Was that Quasi-Photo, that just flashed by me?  Maybe I drank too much of the water when I was in Mexico.  However, being a Peso, you’d think I’d be used to it by now.  Maybe it’s the beach.  Too much time in the sun can really freak a coin out.  One minute you’re sipping a nice cool soda on the beach enjoying the waves; the next minute some fat guy with a metal detector is taking you home to his wife.  Well . . . how else do you think I ended up in the United States?  I don’t have a green card.  Anyway, I’m not sure what happened to me.  I think I’m delirious.  That’s what happens in the sun. Soy loco para mas Exposure.

Please take a moment to reply to and “like” this episode of The Saga:

The post Exposure appeared first on Stone Cold Magic Magazine.