There are plenty of innovative magicians who have turned their phones from pocket-sized computers into magic tricks. One of the latest efforts to make the impossible happen with a phone is a trick called Starlight from Paul Harris and Chris Perrotta. Harris, in case you didn’t know, is pretty smart about the whole magic thing.
When Starlight goes into action, the beam of light from a phone will reveal two symbols on a playing card, so potentially two letters (say, a viewer’s initials) or a number and a symbol (such as to reveal the card chosen by an audience member).
Magicorthodoxy has a review of the product, and he’s generally into the gimmick. Starlight gets brownie points for being well made and easy to use, but he did express concerns about the device being a bit fragile.
If you’re excited by what Starlight has to offer for your act, you can pick it up from Murphy’s Magic.
This deck is beefy, in every possible meaning of the word. Take a look at these Burger Playing Cards and you’ll get why. For starters, all of the artwork is burger-themed, from the embossed sesame seeds on the tuck box to the unique designs for each of the court cards to the pickle joker card.
Magicorthodoxy has a nice video review of the deck, a Kickstarter project designed by Australia-based Flaminko Playing Cards. Most critically for your card-slinging needs, he notes that the cards are printed on very thick stock from Cartamundi. How thick? Ten cards measured 3.08 mm across. He opines that the study material means this deck would hold up well to lots of use and abuse, say from you cardistry pros out there.
If you’ve got an insatiable cow craving, then head on over to rareplayingcards.com to buy a Burger deck.
When we reported on the release of the second volume of Peter McCabe’s Scripting Magic (along with a reprinting of the first volume), it sounded almost too good to be true. $150 is a lot of money, but if Scripting Magic can fundamentally improve the magic you already know, then it’s easily worth the price of admission. YouTube review channel Magic Orthodoxy has the verdict: if you are serious about your magic, you should absolutely find a way to make these two volumes part of your library.
It’s not just the inclusion of dozens of essays and professional patter from some of the best magicians in the business that impressed David the most, but rather the flowcharts and worksheets that the books come with that let you apply this knowledge practically. He calls it “homework”, but it’s the kind of homework that actually lets you feel like you’re improving and understanding your own abilities in a new light. He even claims that the set is just as important for scripted magicians as it is for those who try to make their magic feel more organic or spontaneous.
If you’re intrigued, pick up your boxed set of both volumes at publisher Vanishing, Inc. for $150.
Magicorthodoxy has broken open Kayfabe, the 4-DVD set from Max Maven and Luis DeMatos, and likes what he sees. Three of the discs offer magic: one for stage mentalism and two for card tricks, while the fourth DVD hosts an audio file of Max reading an essay he wrote about why magic is essential to life as well as a documentary called “A Fabulous Monster.” Each DVD also includes an interview with Max on a different topic, such as Max’s career outside of magic or his early life. The overall production value is quite high and lovely – no half-measures here.
So is Kayfabe worth its $153 price tag? Well, that depends largely on what you want to get out of it. If you’re looking for your money’s worth in secrets, you may be disappointed, says Magicorthodoxy. The set may be better for anyone looking for inspiration, for insight into the history of magic, or new ways to think about the craft. And if you’re a Max Maven fan in particular, it’s a must-have for your collection.