.:Tektite Madness:.
I had a combination stage and walkaround show for today, and it was a pretty strong effort, overall.
Admittedly, I had a bit of kinks to work out when I opened my stage show, but not only did the close-up segment of my performance compensate for that, I regained my bearings as soon as I began my Ring Through Rope Routine. The kids were fun to work with, although I was a bit worried they'd deform my Ring, since they were tugging at it pretty hard.
Nonetheless, my brief stage show really turned a lot of heads, and I'm glad it worked out pretty well, although my mentalism bits were still the effects that had the best reactions. The Blindfolded Rubik's was definitely finale material, and I'm glad that the people I performed it for appreciated that one. It's definitely something I love doing, especially since nobody in my circles is currently doing the effect.
I still have one more show next week, then it's going to be quite a ways before the next scheduled one, which is still in May. Perfect time for me to see if I can find any chances to actually go and do more mentalism in the future...
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
New Magic Post In My Main Blog...
Normally, I post magic and mentalism stuff here, but this post was just too big to leave off of my main blog, so check out my thoughts on the Berglas Effect.
Two Shows. One Day...
.:Now I Know How It Feels...:.
There was a time when Bing once told me about how it was to have to do multiple shows in a day, and now I know how it feels.
Considering that my oral exams with Dr. Kaelin was going to be a relative success, I was generally in high spirits about doing two shows in a row, since one was hosting and walkaround for a children's party, and so my usual bag of tricks was going to be sufficient, while the other was going to be a sorta stage mentalism show, which meant I was going to be in my element despite it being a stage show.
.:Bowl Me Over:.
It was a really great day in the bowling alleys of Eastwood, as Santino celebrated his 7th birthday. I met a few guests who were also there during Gianella's party, so it felt like a mini-reunion. The parents of the celebrant had me over to host a fun bowling tournament, and to award not only the top three bowlers, but even the two best bowling teams for the day. They pulled out all the stops. They had trophies, medals, and even loaded Power Cards for the winners. The food was courtesy of Magoo's pizza, so you know what to expect, although they had some Lechon on the side.
It was a pretty easy-going time for me, to be honest. Close-up magic was never a problem for me, so performing for kids and adults alike didn't intimidate me one bit, and the kids were charming to work with. They were every bit as nice as the kids during Raphael's party at Hard Rock were a pain in the whatchamacallit. Of course, that simply meant that I wasn't going to have any problems at all, and hosting the party with cooperative albeit enthusiastic kids was going to be loads of fun. I was tempted to bowl, even.
After two hours of bowling, the winners were announced, everyone went home with a loot bag, and I ended up with a disc that I needed for the Ring through Rope routine, courtesy of the celebrant.
Definitely one of the best children's parties I've ever performed for, especially since I did both magic and hosting for them.
.:Reedley's Freak Show!:.
There was a time when Bing once told me about how it was to have to do multiple shows in a day, and now I know how it feels.
Considering that my oral exams with Dr. Kaelin was going to be a relative success, I was generally in high spirits about doing two shows in a row, since one was hosting and walkaround for a children's party, and so my usual bag of tricks was going to be sufficient, while the other was going to be a sorta stage mentalism show, which meant I was going to be in my element despite it being a stage show.
.:Bowl Me Over:.
It was a really great day in the bowling alleys of Eastwood, as Santino celebrated his 7th birthday. I met a few guests who were also there during Gianella's party, so it felt like a mini-reunion. The parents of the celebrant had me over to host a fun bowling tournament, and to award not only the top three bowlers, but even the two best bowling teams for the day. They pulled out all the stops. They had trophies, medals, and even loaded Power Cards for the winners. The food was courtesy of Magoo's pizza, so you know what to expect, although they had some Lechon on the side.
It was a pretty easy-going time for me, to be honest. Close-up magic was never a problem for me, so performing for kids and adults alike didn't intimidate me one bit, and the kids were charming to work with. They were every bit as nice as the kids during Raphael's party at Hard Rock were a pain in the whatchamacallit. Of course, that simply meant that I wasn't going to have any problems at all, and hosting the party with cooperative albeit enthusiastic kids was going to be loads of fun. I was tempted to bowl, even.
After two hours of bowling, the winners were announced, everyone went home with a loot bag, and I ended up with a disc that I needed for the Ring through Rope routine, courtesy of the celebrant.
Definitely one of the best children's parties I've ever performed for, especially since I did both magic and hosting for them.
.:Reedley's Freak Show!:.
Yes. I cater to skeptics and hecklers, too!
I hustled back to Reedley immediately after the walkaround, and found myself with only a few minutes to prepare before it became my turn to do something freaky for the school's Thanksgiving Day. This was despite a certain issue that happened the day before which we must not speak of.
Anyways, I had a couple of warm-ups by doing Sufoku and "Thinking On Your Feet", then followed it up with O.R.B.S., Plunge Of Death, and then Liquid Metal. By the time I performed Black Ops Hypnosis, everyone was sufficiently freaked out, and if I do say so myself, this was one of my better performances.
I'm a bit miffed with all the attempts to "break the code" of my performance, as it were, though, because it's rather offensive and disrespectful to me. To put it bluntly, I performed for free and for people's entertainment, and for them to adversely affect my performance by attempting to debunk it, well, even if their attempts were easily disproven, I found it a tad annoying.
Despite that, I got quite a lot of good feedback from my performance, and I definitely cemented my reputation as a mentalist that night.
Even then, I couldn't hold a candle to Mr. Vengco, whose mind-splitting performance really brought the house down, as he broke watermelons with his head.
It was an awesome time. Other than the slight annoyance, I had a great day all around.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Magical Recap...
.:Feuds?:.
Meh. I think I'll pass.
.:The LEAP Of Faith:.
Last Monday was DLSU's alternative class day, and I was pegged as a speaker/lecturer for a good three hours about street magic. According to RJ, my contact in DLSU, I was going to teach basic street magic to some students, and while of course, the easiest thing to do would be to teach them card magic, I wanted to add a little something aside from that.
Cakit was there with me, which made my life much easier as he helped me brainstorm a few things, including something for Mindstorm, and this helped me finalize my routine for the upcoming show. At the same time, he helped me out during the lecture as well, particularly when demonstrating basic sleights like the double undercut.
Anyways, it was fun because even RJ showed off a bit of magic when he talked about the ZTE scandal (Something I still haven't mulled over enough to blog about, sadly.), and when it got to me, I opened with Mel Meller's "Thinking On Your Feet" to get myself warmed up. I proceeded to teach them some classic effects, opening with Ultimate Transpo, then moving onto "Wow" as if to "repeat" the effect, then teaching them a few self-working effects like the 26-card, 21-card, 8-card, and Glide effects, plus some 2-Card Monte to top it all off. In between routines, some card sleights, forces, and controls, were also discussed.
After having sated their appetite for card effects, I moved on to teaching them a couple of other effects, namely, The Ring Thing, and my own Sponge Ball routine. It was a blast, because they really had fun, and it was something that I was sure they wouldn't have problems doing at all if they had the necessary items.
I concluded the day with a bit of mentalism to just floor them and make them realize that there's a lot more to learn than just the stuff I taught them. I showed them O.R.B.S., Liquid Metal, and the Wizard Manual, and called it a day.
All in all, it was an excellent teach-in. Here's hoping that I've inspired a few potential magicians with this effort.
.:Saturday's Double-Header:.
Last Saturday, I did walkaround, and then a round robin of mentalism effects for P.E.N. Since the whole P.E.N. bit was just performers doing mentalism for each other, I think what would be more interesting to discuss would be the walkaround, because it was for a children's party at Burgoo in Rockwell.
I was particularly inspired before heading out that day, because my Beloved dropped in on me. It was so sweet of her to see me.
In any case, I did my magic for kids, but I concentrated a bit on mentalism, which apparently wowed the celebrant, Justin. I mainly did A LOT of PK, and lo and behold, the kids were so busy trying to do PK, I ended up performing for the adults instead, since the kids were so occupied trying to move stuff with their mind. It was a fun sight to see, five to ten kids staring at a knife, trying to tip it over a table.
That being said, I really only performed a few effects, and completely stayed away from playing cards. I had ESP effects, sponge balls, a bit of Liquid Metal, a few PK routines, a time-stopping effect, and of course, Positive-Negative for me to give out my calling card. The kids were enjoying it, but the adults were likewise impressed with the performance.
Surprisingly, my walkaround ended relatively early because the party moved to the moviehouse at 1:30, as they went to watch Spiderwick Chronicles. I had a great time there, and the kids enjoyed themselves with just a bit of magic from me, and their amazing imaginations to just simply fuel them further.
Meh. I think I'll pass.
.:The LEAP Of Faith:.
Last Monday was DLSU's alternative class day, and I was pegged as a speaker/lecturer for a good three hours about street magic. According to RJ, my contact in DLSU, I was going to teach basic street magic to some students, and while of course, the easiest thing to do would be to teach them card magic, I wanted to add a little something aside from that.
Cakit was there with me, which made my life much easier as he helped me brainstorm a few things, including something for Mindstorm, and this helped me finalize my routine for the upcoming show. At the same time, he helped me out during the lecture as well, particularly when demonstrating basic sleights like the double undercut.
Anyways, it was fun because even RJ showed off a bit of magic when he talked about the ZTE scandal (Something I still haven't mulled over enough to blog about, sadly.), and when it got to me, I opened with Mel Meller's "Thinking On Your Feet" to get myself warmed up. I proceeded to teach them some classic effects, opening with Ultimate Transpo, then moving onto "Wow" as if to "repeat" the effect, then teaching them a few self-working effects like the 26-card, 21-card, 8-card, and Glide effects, plus some 2-Card Monte to top it all off. In between routines, some card sleights, forces, and controls, were also discussed.
After having sated their appetite for card effects, I moved on to teaching them a couple of other effects, namely, The Ring Thing, and my own Sponge Ball routine. It was a blast, because they really had fun, and it was something that I was sure they wouldn't have problems doing at all if they had the necessary items.
I concluded the day with a bit of mentalism to just floor them and make them realize that there's a lot more to learn than just the stuff I taught them. I showed them O.R.B.S., Liquid Metal, and the Wizard Manual, and called it a day.
All in all, it was an excellent teach-in. Here's hoping that I've inspired a few potential magicians with this effort.
.:Saturday's Double-Header:.
Last Saturday, I did walkaround, and then a round robin of mentalism effects for P.E.N. Since the whole P.E.N. bit was just performers doing mentalism for each other, I think what would be more interesting to discuss would be the walkaround, because it was for a children's party at Burgoo in Rockwell.
I was particularly inspired before heading out that day, because my Beloved dropped in on me. It was so sweet of her to see me.
In any case, I did my magic for kids, but I concentrated a bit on mentalism, which apparently wowed the celebrant, Justin. I mainly did A LOT of PK, and lo and behold, the kids were so busy trying to do PK, I ended up performing for the adults instead, since the kids were so occupied trying to move stuff with their mind. It was a fun sight to see, five to ten kids staring at a knife, trying to tip it over a table.
That being said, I really only performed a few effects, and completely stayed away from playing cards. I had ESP effects, sponge balls, a bit of Liquid Metal, a few PK routines, a time-stopping effect, and of course, Positive-Negative for me to give out my calling card. The kids were enjoying it, but the adults were likewise impressed with the performance.
Surprisingly, my walkaround ended relatively early because the party moved to the moviehouse at 1:30, as they went to watch Spiderwick Chronicles. I had a great time there, and the kids enjoyed themselves with just a bit of magic from me, and their amazing imaginations to just simply fuel them further.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Mindstorm!
.:Mindstorm Takes The Entertainment World By... Storm:.
Many searches have come and gone our way in Philippine television.
We've had searches for the next pop music idol. We've had searches for the next matinee idols. We've had searches for survivors and housemates and nearly anything else you can think of. Whether you call it a talent search or a reality show, we seem to have exhausted every single search we can think of.
Or so we thought. Be prepared as Philippine television will be taken on a mind-boggling journey with Mindstorm: the first Philippine search for the next big Psychic Entertainer.
Tentatively scheduled to air on July 20 this year on Studio 23, Mindstorm brings together seven of the Philippine's top Psychic Entertainers in a showcase of unbelievable feats of the mind, including telepathy, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, and hypnosis. These aren't your average fortune tellers from Quiapo: these are the upper echelon of Psychic Entertainers, all skilled and famed performers in their own right. They're hungry to prove their worth, and they are here to entertain you like no other performers could.
Mindstorm is not a simple competition: it's a showcase of skills that before we've only been able to imagine in our dreams. It's the chance for any of these seven individuals to make their mark on the Philippines as they take the viewer's breath away with feats that defy explanation. To say that you will be shocked and astounded is an understatement. This is a genuine exhibition you wouldn't want to miss out. No stooges. No camera tricks. No limits.
Judged by veteran Psychic Entertainers David Elefant and Sonny Minoza, Mindstorm guarantees a showdown of the best for everyone who wants to be amazed like never before.
Seven Psychic Entertainers. Three finalists. One victor. A night filled with awe and wonder over the mysteries of the mind. To miss out on this would be a crime.
Many searches have come and gone our way in Philippine television.
We've had searches for the next pop music idol. We've had searches for the next matinee idols. We've had searches for survivors and housemates and nearly anything else you can think of. Whether you call it a talent search or a reality show, we seem to have exhausted every single search we can think of.
Or so we thought. Be prepared as Philippine television will be taken on a mind-boggling journey with Mindstorm: the first Philippine search for the next big Psychic Entertainer.
Tentatively scheduled to air on July 20 this year on Studio 23, Mindstorm brings together seven of the Philippine's top Psychic Entertainers in a showcase of unbelievable feats of the mind, including telepathy, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, and hypnosis. These aren't your average fortune tellers from Quiapo: these are the upper echelon of Psychic Entertainers, all skilled and famed performers in their own right. They're hungry to prove their worth, and they are here to entertain you like no other performers could.
Mindstorm is not a simple competition: it's a showcase of skills that before we've only been able to imagine in our dreams. It's the chance for any of these seven individuals to make their mark on the Philippines as they take the viewer's breath away with feats that defy explanation. To say that you will be shocked and astounded is an understatement. This is a genuine exhibition you wouldn't want to miss out. No stooges. No camera tricks. No limits.
Judged by veteran Psychic Entertainers David Elefant and Sonny Minoza, Mindstorm guarantees a showdown of the best for everyone who wants to be amazed like never before.
Seven Psychic Entertainers. Three finalists. One victor. A night filled with awe and wonder over the mysteries of the mind. To miss out on this would be a crime.
Monday, February 4, 2008
The Trek Of Goodness...
.:The Trek Of Goodness:.
Saturday marked yet another walkaround children's magic show for me, and I sure ain't complaining! It was a great party all around, and while I was supposed to entertain mainly the kids, the celebrant's mother wanted me to entertain the adults more, which I pulled off mostly by using Liquid Metal to good effect. People have seen magicians before, but rarely do they run into mentalists, at a children's party, no less.
What really made the show interesting was that Liquid Metal got the best reactions throughout the day. There was this kid in particular who was a bit shy, and wasn't too keen with the Sponge Balls, but once I did Liquid Metal, she did a double take, and next thing I knew, she was hooked.
I did a lot of the Sponge Balls, which amused both kids and adults alike, as well as a bit of card tricks, including Mel Meller's "Thinking On Your Feet", and of course, the usual mentalism staples like the O.R.B.S. effect (Blindfolded Rubik's Cube), and Liquid Metal, plus a little bit of Positive-Negative just for good measure.
.:Little Did I Know...:.
That I was actually performing for Mr. Chavit Singson and Ms. Angelu de Leon during last Saturday's show. I was really not thinking about it at all, but now that I had the time to recollect my thoughts... well, I'll be darned!
That, plus the fact that Balloon Creations liked my effort so much, meant that I found myself booked for four more shows up until May. No complaints there at all! Hehe.
Saturday marked yet another walkaround children's magic show for me, and I sure ain't complaining! It was a great party all around, and while I was supposed to entertain mainly the kids, the celebrant's mother wanted me to entertain the adults more, which I pulled off mostly by using Liquid Metal to good effect. People have seen magicians before, but rarely do they run into mentalists, at a children's party, no less.
What really made the show interesting was that Liquid Metal got the best reactions throughout the day. There was this kid in particular who was a bit shy, and wasn't too keen with the Sponge Balls, but once I did Liquid Metal, she did a double take, and next thing I knew, she was hooked.
I did a lot of the Sponge Balls, which amused both kids and adults alike, as well as a bit of card tricks, including Mel Meller's "Thinking On Your Feet", and of course, the usual mentalism staples like the O.R.B.S. effect (Blindfolded Rubik's Cube), and Liquid Metal, plus a little bit of Positive-Negative just for good measure.
.:Little Did I Know...:.
That I was actually performing for Mr. Chavit Singson and Ms. Angelu de Leon during last Saturday's show. I was really not thinking about it at all, but now that I had the time to recollect my thoughts... well, I'll be darned!
That, plus the fact that Balloon Creations liked my effort so much, meant that I found myself booked for four more shows up until May. No complaints there at all! Hehe.
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