Pagliacci's Diamonds in the Rough, Part I

If you've seen the Disney classic, Aladdin, you've heard of the phrase, "A diamond in the rough." This new series of posts will involve the magical equivalent of this: Pagliacci will scour the deserts of Penguin Magic and the like and find the real gems they offer. They are gems in one of two ways: (1) they are popular items strewn about a sea of crap, waiting to be found, purchased, and used and (2) they are items magicians have scoffed at because of appearances, initial popularity, and hype, causing most magicians to miss the hidden potential in these products. Thus, approach this list with an open mind; I hope you give each of these items a chance as I have found, in my experience, that all of these products have much potential to take advantage of.

Let's start with On the Spot. How is this for a premise for a DVD set: let's learn tricks that are of professional calibur and yet can be performed impromptu, with a minimum of props. There are just so many valuable tricks and insights in this set. My personal favs? A Questionable Trick and and ReCap Revisited are unbelievably strong routines, Ring Fright is a great gag, and Sponge Napkins will allow you to do your favorite sponge routines without sponges (for me, that was worth the price of the set alone)!

Here's something overlooked way too much: The Art of Public Squeaking. This little prop (a squeaker) and all the great ideas in this books are worth their weight in gold. Don't underestimate the mileage you will get for the $5 you will spend on this booklet and squeaker.

When NFW (which stands for "No Fucking Way," in case you didn't catch the title's reference to what people say after seeing the trick) first hit the market, it made a HUGE splash. I'm seeing the trick done less and less (actually, I haven't seen it for the last year) and it shocks me: this is such a strong packet trick, I can't believe there aren't many professionals whipping this bad boy out. This is the only packet trick I do in walk-around work because I can justify taking just the packet out. "I need a special set of cards to do the next trick because you can't just find 4 jokers in a single pack," I open with. At the end of the trick, you can justify the change by saying, "But you know what? I really love this trick - I wish I could do this all the time. I think it would be much easier to use - " (reveal the change) " - the four aces." Clean, strong, and can be examined at the end if you know what you're doing.

If you not using the 3-D Multiplying Rabbits, you're also really missing out. I'm assuming most of you already own this, so I'm not going to go into much detail. All I'm going to say for those of you who don't own this set or do this trick: why aren't you performing this sure-fire audience pleaser that amuses kids and amazes adults?

Some people avoided Paul Harris's Reality Twister when it first came out because it looked like a cheap toy. It's not and the business card routine described in the Reality Twister book takes this little curiosity and elevates it to a business-making, gig-getting brain buster.

That's all for now, folks! Stay tuned for the next installment of "Pagliacci's Diamonds in the Rough"!