Pages from precursor no 74 39182

mflGflzine OF innovflnon LXXIV

PRECURSOR LXXIV This is PRECURSOR LXXIV and is published in June 2000. PRECURSOR is edited by William P. Miesel and is published by unikorn magik. The editorial offices are at 2215 Myrtle Street, Erie, Pennsylvania, 16502-2643 (phone 814-454-8802). PRECURSOR is being published more than three times a year and is sold for $21.00 (U.S.) for three issues. Outside the United States, Canada, and Mexico, three issues are sent Air Mail for $25.00 (U.S.).

This is another all One-Man Issue of PRECURSOR, all of the material has been contributed by Hideo Kato, a cardman from Tokyo Japan.

"Fingertip Vision" seems to be a good description of a virtually unknown subterfuge. I played with this just a couple of minutes and it seems to be quite practical. If you think about it, this could provide the solution to some true miracles.

"Hideo Kato's Magic Spell" is a variation of Dai Vernon's "Magic Spell" from 1946 and in 1956, "Magic Spell" was revived with a variation by Clyde Cairy and Ed Mario and it is about time this fine trick is revived again. Of course, with each revival, some additions have been added.

In "Don't Forget," a previously used subtlety that placed a key card above a selection is now used to obtain a glimpse of the actual selection.

In "Memory Genius," Hideo Kato describes a method of catching a glimpse of a target card that uses misdirection that is quite different. This glimpse is described in the guise of a pseudomemory test, but with a little thought it can be applied to other effects.

"Sleight of Eyes" is a common card location under a key card, but by applying the misdirection from "Memory Genius," it makes a simple key card trick a real work of art.

"Drop And Catch" is Hideo Kato's variation of Reinhard Muller's "Quick As A Wink," which can be found in Karl Fulves' Self-Working Card Tricks.

"Magnetic Searcher" uses a sort of "floating key card" that Hideo Kato calls a "distant key card" to locate a selected card. The presentational plot is that another card magnetically pulls the selection out of the deck.

During the past couple of years, a number of routines based on Bob Hummer's "18 Card Mystery" have circulated through Card Magic. "Shuffle Non-Bored" presents some of Hideo Kato's thoughts on this subject.

"Compound Sandwich" is a production of the four Aces within a multiple sandwich that is accomplished using the "Free Cut Principle" and a couple of faro shuffles.

"Sign and Mark" is an interesting transposition of a selected and signed card from one packet to another. The selected card is signed on the face and marked with a symbol on the back, and yet it vanishes from one packet only to reappear in the second packet.

"The Final Card" is Hideo Kato's version of the "Sixteen Card Trick." This type of trick started with Alex Elmsley in "7 - 16" in Ibidem #13. Tom Craven has written a pamphlet entitled The Sixteen Card Book, which contains sixteen effects along this line.

William P. Miesel

ED cetera I have on my computer a program called "Microsoft Encarta Virtual Globe". Imagine my surprise when calling up Cheektowaga, I saw next to its name, the name "Forks". Could it be that the programmer for this map was a magician who had attended FFFF conventions at The Forks Hotel, the initial venue for "The Original Close-Up Convention", and which was owned by Eddie Fechter? I couldn't find "Forks" on other maps of Buffalo which I had available. When I brought up the subject with William, he said that the original Forks Hotel was a stage-coach stop for travelers heading east from Buffalo. I still like to think that my magician programmer story is real.

And speaking of FFFF, the articles in the April issues of Genii and Magic about this convention brought back many memories of my attendance at 27 of the 29 editions. This year is the 30th anniversary, and I hope to be at that one, too. Close-Up Magic owes a great debt to Obie O'Brien for his 30 years at the helm of this "Frolic". Precursor salutes you, Obie!

In keeping with trying to find a gag for the new state quarters, I went to my almanac to examine the data for Maryland. I found that Maryland's state motto is: Fatti maschii, parole femine (Manly deeds, womanly words).

In Precursor LXXIII, I wondered if someone would come up with a "nickname" for the new golden dollar coin. I heard it called, on the radio, "the Indian-head dollar". Well, perhaps we could take a hint from Bobo and call the coin a "Flying Eagle", especially since it does have a flying eagle on the reverse or tail-side.

My Dictionary of Dates states that the term "hypnotism" was introduced about 1842 by Scottish surgeon James Braid. The term "mesmerism" was introduced by Franz Mesmer about 1775.

I've been using the expression "magicianry" for many years. Browsing through my Chambers English Dictionary, I ran onto: "stagery: theatrical contrivances".

According to the New York Times, 2000 is the 50th anniversary of Silly Putty. According to the article, the material was accidently invented during World War II, but it was only in 1950 that a toy store bought the first batch. Silly Putty is still being manufactured at a factory in Easton, Pennsylvania. I bought my first tin (it was then sold in a little tin, not a plastic egg) from Gene Gordon probably 45 years ago. I think what's left of it is still somewhere in my house. I used to stretch it out over my hands and fingers just before coming on stage, complaining about somebody leaving their bubble gum backstage. Then I just rolled it into a ball, which I then bounced on the floor. That was a time when bubble gum was still very sticky, not the artificial bubble gum now available.

Ed Eckl

FINGERTIP VISION The inspiration for this trick was "The Zingone Spread," which was in Hugard and Braue's Expert Card Technique" and is accomplished using a "Sight Count." The "Sight Count" described there was very primitive and is quite difficult to do successfully. Mr. Hugard wrote, "When the first spectator puts his finger on a card, count rapidly to it from one end of the deck." ' You can count more smoothly, if not more rapidly, by counting every fourth card. I am going to attempt to describe the handling in detail. First, drop your eyes on the fourth card from either end of the spread, this is quite easy because the end of the spread makes a good starting point.

Consider the fourth card as a marker for the next counting. Skip over the next three cards and focus your eyes on the fourth card from the first marker. Continue like this until arriving at the necessary number of cards or at the target card. Even though I have never read a detailed description of this procedure of Sight Counting, someone else must have already thought of it.

I varied the technique by adding a tracing movement of my forefinger on the spread to make it more reliable. The important thing to remember is that this tracing movement of the forefinger is used as a presentational handling, so that the movement of your eyes is camouflaged very naturally. Now, let's go into an example.

An Example After a spectator selects a card, it is controlled to a known position near the center of the deck.

Ed Mario's "Incomplete Faro Control" would be convenient. Let's assume that the Incomplete Faro Control was used and the selection is now twenty-seventh from the face of the deck.

Ribbon spread the cards face down across the table. The cards during the beginning of the spread should be slightly wider apart than the cards near the back of the deck so that each and every card, up to the halfway point, can be clearly seen.

Say, "I will find your card using my fingertip sensor. " Put your forefinger above the right-end of the spread (the top of the spread) and direct your attention to that finger. Start to move the finger to the left and move your eyes accordingly. When the finger comes near the center of the spread (not quite half of the length), move your eyes to the left and key in on the fourth card from the left. Don't turn your head - move only your eyes.

Figure 1