What’s the difference between a good magician and a bad magician? For Chris Ramsay, it’s when someone is trying way too hard to appear legit. A good magician knows how to talk to people, deflect hecklers, take criticism, and talk about their craft with honesty and humility. A bad magician does cardistry tricks while a member of the audience talks about how their wife’s cancer has gone into remission. This humorous video gives some examples on what to do as a magician and, perhaps more importantly, what not to do.
In a time where truth is often stranger than fiction, The Onion’s skewering humor and satire can be a way to cope with the daily news. Today, the site published a “guest editorial” in the voice of David Copperfield about how American politics has changed the approach magicians are taking to their acts.
“With the president already providing citizens with an alternative version of reality on a daily basis, my own illusions, like walking through the Great Wall of China or making an audience disappear, no longer have as much impact,” the piece reads.
Another gem of a line: “Though much of what we as Americans hold sacred has come under threat this past year, there has been at least one positive development: Many magicians no longer saw their female assistants in half, having come to realize that there are now consequences for such behavior in the workplace.”
They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so we’re hoping that the real David Copperfield reads the Onion and approves. Read the whole joke editorial here.
For the most part, cardistry videos are great fun to watch, and the best performers can do seemingly impossible feats with a stack of playing cards. But as with all things, given enough time tropes start to emerge, and Jaspas and crew are here to make fun of them all. The bouncy electronic music, the giant sunglasses, the overly-confident stares into the camera after sub-par tricks—it’s all here, and it’s hilarious.