On Hanky Moody and the ethics of a self working card effect

“…I probably won’t go down in history, but I will go down on your sister…”

Hank Moody, Californication

Professor Moriarty Here, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of magic’s elite. Who am I? That’s a secret I’ll never tell…

Ok, enough with the Gossip Girl Jokes and let us get down to business:

Oh how I miss the taste of a sweeter life my lovely readers for I cannot stand being geographically and intellectually surrounded by magicians who are constantly trying to find the easy way out when it comes to designing the internal logic of an effect.

As an initial clarification for the present article and its topic I would like to quote Mike Vincent when he said that there was no such thing as a self working effect.

Let us think about it for a second: If you have a folding half dollar and a bottle right in front of you, they will stay there unless you pick them up, the effect will not happen without the intervention of the performer, who, incidentally, has to be familiar with the elements in question and the proper way of handling them if he desires to present the effect in a decent manner.

The fact that the internal logic of the effect is somewhat automatic does not mean its performance will.

In the long lost blog “Double Facers”, Sleight of hand god Tony Chang wrote a lot about the invalidity of difficulty as a parameter when creating magic. In other words, you should not care about difficulty when working on a desired effect’s internal logic for the only thing that matters is its final strength and impact when ultimately one chooses to perform it live.

Automaticity, in conclusion, must not be a predisposition but a consequence. If the strongest outcome demands we practice the longitudinal swivel steal for 10.000 hours, we shall take it. On the other hand, if the effect benefits the most from a method that happens to be self-working, we must take it as well.

However, I’ll be the first to come out of the move monkey closet and admit that I love difficult sleight of hand and the in depth study of the different methodological paths one may take when creating an effect and I found myself totally reflected on the introductory words Derek Delgaudio wrote in “Only Notes” when speaking about his “Newton’s center deal”:

“…False deals are a wonderful barometer in assessing one’s proficiency and dedication to card technique. This is not to say that if one does not false deal, one is not proficient. Simply, perfection in any false deal takes a certain dedication. If someone claims they are a “Card Man”, the quality of his false deals can tell you a lot. I like that”

I certainly hope Derek does not get upset with me for quoting him but whatever the result may be, if it gets him to read this it will accomplish the primary motive of the author, as he needs the attention.

I should mention that the idea for the present article came to mind after I saw a Facebook picture advertising a lecture containing only self working effects by whom I consider to be one of the most intelligent magicians in the area. Although I have nothing against him in particular, the example may serve us well in explaining those more realistic variables that come in to play when one creates and shares magic.

The truth is I am writing this article with an amateur’s point of view, which I am extremely proud of but if one works magic for a living some other things may be more important when selecting and creating an effect. These things present themselves as variables such as the time it takes to re set the effect, the time it takes to perform it, pocket management and so many other things.

When it comes to a lecture, two variables that are not so pretty in pink stand the out like a sore thumb:

A lecture must be commercial; it must have variety both in effect and difficulty. Magicians like to press a button and see something happen, if they do not walk out of a lecture with something that they can go home with and perform for their Persian cat then it does not get the money.

Most magicians, sadly, are not very skillful when it comes to sleight of hand and they hide themselves behind the poorly constructed idea of hobbyists when in reality they do not want to embrace their despicable laziness.

I’d ask you to pardon my French, but that is the way it goes…

An example of what has been discussed herein will be provided in the following delivery of the much acclaimed “Crème de la crème” series

David Gilmour’s acoustic rendition of "Wish You Were Here" now accompanies me as I type the final words of this fantastic article/essay.

XOXO lovely readers, Professor Moriarty now checks out…

“...I think if I'm 40 and I don't have any kids and I'm not married, I would have a baby artificially inseminated. I would feel like Mary - like Jesus is my baby…”
Kim Kardashian

On a much needed comeback newsletter

"...I feel like I'm too busy writing history to read it..."

Kanye West

Long time no see lovely readers, Apologize I must for my rather prolonged absence from this equally lovely platform which I so deeply care about...

I am however extremely proud to admit that the almost two months of non stop studying have paid off since last friday I finished high school, I am now a free man and I plan on spending the next four months writing and practicing magic, much to your own delight.

The sound of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" now accompanies me as I start what will probably not make much sense thematically for it's my urgent need to write that surpasses my desire to stay organized, I therefor apologize in advance.

I am pleased to inform that the first contribution to the guest bloggers section is being given its final touches and will shorty come out to the public. I chose to start with Alan Muicey, who, apart from being one of my closest confidants is a fantastic technician and cardistry artist. His column will deal with how he found a way to combine all of his passions under the wings of a very spanish-influenced performance style which I think you will all enjoy...

Having said that I must now confess that I have been revisiting my old friend the push through shuffle. Although I much favor the strip out shuffle in every aspect, I must confess that my love for the work of Jason England along with my constant appreciation for the hands of whom I think may be the greatest sleight of hand artist standing on the face of the earth, Mr. Steve Forte, have caused me to welcome the push through back to my practice routine.

In doing so I noticed a few subtleties which I think are worthy of mentioning. Firstly, I consider it crucial that the moment in which the secret action takes places be totally imperceptible and for that I must recommend two strategies:

The first is Vernon's idea of only moving the right hand half through the other. Although I think this notion is quite fantastic, it does make for a somewhat slower shuffle, which is fine if that is what you are looking for.

On the other hand, if you may be looking for a more dynamic shuffle you must notice the way Steve Forte handles the present technique. Although I am still not sure how he does it, Mr. Forte achieves and enviable fluidity when it comes to the stripping out of the packets. If you ever have the pleasure to watch him you shall notice how there is no pause between the shuffle and the subsequent running cut. Another nice touch is displayed on 52, the special bonus section of his much acclaimed GPS series. If your eye is keen enough you will notice how he pushes the pack forward at the crucial moment, That may be something applicable to any kind of false shuffle since it follows the Erdnase commandment of the larger motion covering the smaller one.

Regardless of which path you may choose, there is a subtlety that is equally applicable to both styles of shuffles since it deals with what I consider to be the biggest issue with the push through, overcoming the friction created by the undesired contact between the fingers of both hands at the moment of the push through. To my mind, the matter is solved by the consideration of the action of the both thumbs at the crucial moment, I found that if you keep them in contact with each other the pushing of the packets through one another becomes much fluid, no matter the size of the brief.

On a rather modest closing remark I shall link you to a video of my own in which I can be seen mixing up Zarrow shuffles, strip out shuffles and other kinds of artifice.

Click here and prepare to be utterly amazed by my dazzling chops!

Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" joins me as I hope you have enjoyed this needed comeback as much as I have...

ta-ta lovely readers, Professor Moriarty checks out...

"...Sex without love is a meaningless experience, but as far as meaningless experiences go its pretty damn good..."

Woody Allen