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[ruben]

Scusate ma in certi casi c'è un po di inglese.

Ecco certi articoli, we had some great articles submitted. Top MB interviewer Huw Collingbourne interviews mentalist Ian
Rowland, whilst Michael Jay has submitted his third part of his much-acclaimed series “The Thumb Tip and You”
on top of many other magic articles.
So, until next time,
Best Wishes,
~Jon Snoops~

Contents

MAGIC ARTICLE: “The Thumb Tip and You Part 3” by Michael Jay
MAGIC ARTICLE: “Letter From Walter Zaney Blaney” by Walter Zaney Blaney
MAGIC ARTICLE: “The 3 M’s of Magic” by Nigel Shelton
MAGIC ARTICLE: “Interview With Ian Rowland” by Ian Rowland & Huw Collingbourne
MAGIC ARTICLE: “The Advantages and Disadvantages of Elastic Band Magic” by Nigel Shelton
MAGIC ARTICLE: “So - You want to be a Star, do you? Part 6” by Nigel Shelton

The Thumb Tip and You Part 3
In this, the third and final article on thumb tipping, we will take a look at some final techniques and tips, go over
some thumb tip like devices, give credits and finish with my personal handling of a torn and restored, signed sugar
packet.
Additional Thumb Tipping Techniques
If you’ve followed this article since the beginning, you have learned how to use a thumb tip without ever showing
it, you’ve learned how to openly show the thumb tip without it being seen and you’ve come to appreciate the depth
of what a thumb tip can do for your magic. Now it is time to consider some other handling techniques to draw you
to the next level of thumb tipping.
Kick Steal: In this technique, your thumb never enters the fist holding the thumb tip and the load. When you are
finished with pushing your load into the tip to prepare for the steal, on your second to last push with the index
finger into the thumb tip, you push your finger off to the side of the tip (rather than into it), which will push the tip
through the back of your hand holding the tip, the fingers in particular, and the tip will now be kicked out of your
fingers. Once again, this is difficult to explain without pictures, so picture this in your mind: the tip is in your left
fist, the back of your fist facing the audience which means that your closed fingers face your chest. If you take
and push your right index finger into that fist, but to the front of the tip rather than inside of it, your right index
finger will push the tip out of the left fist, through the fingers in such a way that if anyone could see the back of
your hand, where the fingers face the chest, they’d see the tip sticking out. Now, upon pushing your finger into

The Thumb Tip and You Part 3 (cont.)
the fist one last time, you can steal the tip away with the thumb from the back of the fist. In this way, the thumb
never enters the fist to initiate the steal of the thumb tip.
Pinch Steal: When using an oversized thumb tip, this steal is essential. At times, you will need a bigger thumb tip
than you’d normally use, to fit a bigger load, for example. Starting with the thumb tip, once again in the fist, as
you push the last of your load into the tip in preparation for the steal, you push with both finger and thumb
simultaneously. This will allow you to pinch the edge of the tip between the index finger and thumb and extract
the tip by gripping it in this pinch position. Keep in mind that the fingers, which are facing your chest, have the
ability to loosen their grip to allow for this kind of removal of the tip without the audience seeing this action. When
using this steal, the tip will extend past the finger tips, so use misdirection, or immediately open the now empty fist
to draw off attention from the dirty hand, which can then move the tip into a finger palm position.
The two above steals will offer you a bit more ammunition in your war chest of thumb tipping. These are very
important things to know in your overall use of the thumb tip and I strongly suggest that you learn them to make
your magic with the thumb tip even stronger. However, the question always arises, “How do I get the thumb tip
into my hands to begin with?” This is a matter of creativity and necessity.
Let’s assume that you will be doing a silk vanish. Well, when you get the silk to make it vanish, the tip should be
accessible directly next to the silk, wherever you have the silk. If the silk is in your pocket, then the tip must be
positioned next to it. If the silk rests on your table, then it is easy enough to conceal just below the silk as long as
the silk is not lying flat. Keep in mind that the tip does not need to be placed on the thumb immediately. If you’ve
been doing the exercises suggested earlier in these columns, then you are capable of moving the tip from finger
palm, to on the thumb and back quickly and naturally. Never discount the power of being able to move the tip to
different positions in the hand.
Assuming that you are going to do a cigarette vanish, you can retrieve the tip if you keep it directly next to the
cigarette pack. Maybe you don’t smoke. That certainly does not preclude carrying a lighter to light someone
else’s cigarette. Keep the tip next to the lighter in your pocket. Or, if you want to, use a pen much as you would a
wand and keep the tip next to your pen for retrieval when you access your pen.
Another method, if you wear a jacket, is to take a safety pin and attach a paper clip to the safety pin. You can
now put the pin on the inside lining of your jacket, near the bottom and clip the tip to the paper clip. Make sure
that the tip doesn’t hang down below the bottom of the jacket, but not too high up, either. You can now steal the
tip easily from underneath the jacket using misdirection, or turning slightly to the side of your audience hiding the
fact that the hand is grabbing something from underneath the jacket. This clip also works for coins and other
small items. Once again, creativity and necessity. Use your imagination.
Some methods for subtly showing the tip but keeping it invisible at the same time is how you hold your hands.
Believe it or not, there is a proper way to hold your hands, whether hiding something or not. The tip of the middle
finger should rest on the tip of the thumb. This is considered to be the proper way to hold that hand to suggest
grace on stage. That may sound funny, but it is true. This also works for us as magicians when hiding the thumb
tip. When the tip is positioned on the thumb, if you rest the tip of the tip (not to be redundant) against your middle
finger, and keep the other hand in the same position, no one will be any the wiser that the tip is present. Keep in
mind that the human psyche follows action, and when the hands are to the side of your body in this position, there
is no action and therefore goes unnoticed by the spectators.
Yet another way of doing this is if you wear glasses. As a magician, you should take anything that you have and
use it to your advantage, and glasses are just one example of this. By keeping the hand positioned as above (tip
of thumb lightly pressed to tip of middle finger), you can push your glasses up at the bridge of your nose with your
index finger, which is a natural thing to do, and subtly show your dirty hand empty. This will only draw light
attention as it is a very natural maneuver, but the spectators will take note of the fact that your hand is empty,
even though it is not. This can also be done with the finger palm as was discussed in a previous installation of
this article. By holding the tip in finger palm, as the hand is raised to the glasses, you slowly turn the hand, at the
wrist, until the back of the hand is facing the audience then push the glasses up on the bridge of the nose. By
doing this, you will show the open palm empty then slowly turn the hand to stop observation into the palm. Do this

The Thumb Tip and You Part 3 (cont.)
in reverse as you take the hand away from the face and you have told your entire audience that you have nothing
to hide in that hand - they will ignore it because the know that it is empty.
You can also readjust or remove your glasses at the frame and once again transmit subtly to your audience that
the dirty hand is empty and to be ignored. You reach up with the hand with the tip on, and grasp your glasses
right at the hinge of the arm, between thumb and index finger and take the glasses off in a slow and cool manner,
making sure that the other fingers are relaxed in front of the palm, but separated. This move gives a natural
reason for "hiding" the thumb behind the fingers. Its probably best to use a soft tip, as you will be able to grip the
glasses better. Just think of the glasses doing the same job as a wand in cups and balls, and you get the idea. In
the summer, the street magician, could get away with murder wearing their sun shades! Creativity and necessity.
Thumb Tip-like Devices
The Die Tube - Many magicians don’t realize that when they are using a die tube, they are using a different kind
of thumb tip. The die tube is a two chambered device that is used, among other things, to do a color change for
silks. It is a tube with an opening at both ends. One silk is already loaded into it and it is finger palmed. A
different colored silk is then pushed into the closed fist and loaded into the top chamber, while pulling out the
other colored silk from the bottom chamber - the bottom of the closed fist. When finished, you steal the tube
away, just as you would with a thumb tip, and you can now show the hand empty with the opposing colored silk in
place of the original silk. The tube is then finger palmed and the silk displayed, which also acts as cover for the
die tube.
Finger Tips - The same as a thumb tip, only slender, to be used on the finger instead of the thumb. As discussed
earlier, the finger tip can be used by magicians with small thumbs just as if it were a thumb tip. Don’t discount this
very good use for a finger tip if you simply cannot get a thumb tip that fits properly. This device can also be
purchased “pinky” sized, for use on the little finger. These, in particular, are very tiny.
The Sixth Finger - This is an actual finger that is hollow. By placing it between the middle and ring finger, with a
bit of misdirection, it can go completely unnoticed by the spectators. Honestly, it is amazing what people simply
don’t notice and the sixth finger is and excellent example of people’s lack of observation. The benefit of the sixth
finger is that you can store a huge load inside of it. The handling of this device is a bit different from the thumb tip,
but not much. With a bit of imagination, you could probably come up with many uses for this oversized load
device.
The Stealth Gimmick and The Cloaking Device - The stealth gimmick is advertised as a pocket for the hand. In
many ways, that is exactly what this device is. I am not at liberty to discuss what, specifically, this device is but
suffice it to say that it is much like a thumb tip, only for a different area of the hand. It has the ability to allow you
to show the hand empty while hiding small items. The cloaking device is a gimmick much the same as the stealth
gimmick, but with an extra pocket, making it even more useful than the stealth gimmick.
Credits
Thumb tip acquitment - Much the same as the Change Over Pass in “Modern Coin Magic,” by J.B. Bobo.
Dropping the arm to the side, naturally - Mike Close
Showing the hand empty while finger palming - Ramsay Subtlety
Kick Steal - Dai Vernon
Pinch Steal - Lance Burton
Open hand vanish of lit cigarette - Michael Skinner
Invisible Ashtray - Michael Knight

The Thumb Tip and You Part 3 (cont.)
Subtleties with glasses - Dale Shrimpton
The Cloaking Device - Jay Scott Berry
And, lastly, I wish to credit the web site, “The Thumb Tip and You,” found here: http://members.cox.net/bevbooth/
thumbtip/ After reviewing this site, which was sent to me by a reader of the column, I found my first column in this
series to be dangerously close to what is suggested and talked about on this web site. I had no foreknowledge of
this web site, although I may have perused it during a drunken moment but I have no lucid memory of the site and
this article was never intended to be a rip-off of the site. I was taught the idea of coloring the thumb tip when I
was in grade school by a local magician and shop owner named Milo, along with ideas and techniques on how to
use the gizmo. Please forgive any likenesses to the site and I highly recommend the site. All apologies.
If I have left anything out, please feel free to e-mail me at michaeljay@about.com and I will give proper credit in
future articles. Also, if I’ve credited wrong, let me know and it will appear in subsequent articles. Thank you for
reading these articles and hopefully I’ve helped you in, at least, some small way. Also, thank you to all of the
people who’ve written with very kind words about this set of thumb tipping articles. Take care and enjoy this last
effect, which I give to you all, which is my personal handling of the Torn and Restored, Signed Sugar Packet.
The Torn and Restored, Signed Sugar Packet
Effect: The magician has a sugar packet signed (or monogrammed), which he then rips open, pours into his fist,
then balls up the paper of the left over sugar packet, which he also puts in his fist with the poured out sugar.
Upon opening his fist, the sugar packet is restored, with the signature (or monogram) still on it.
Method: Take a bunch of sugar packets and spread them out, just like you would to allow someone to take a
card. Use 8 to 10 packets to allow the spectator to choose one. After they have chosen a sugar packet, close the
spread and place them on the table, but hold one back in finger palm. This is easy enough to do as you close the
spread by thumbing one off into a finger palm. Reach into your pocket to obtain a pen with the dirty hand and
bring out the thumb tip with the pen, the thumb tip should be over the sugar packet in finger palm position, the pen
held at the finger tips. Holding the pen by the cap with the dirty hand, remove the pen from the cap and hand it to
the spectator to sign the sugar pack. Put the cap down. You should use a Sharpie to have the sugar pack
signed, which will give you a reason to blow on the sugar pack - to dry the ink. Once the spectator has signed the
sugar pack, place it over the thumb tip in your hand and begin to blow on it. Slightly open your fingers, which will
allow the sugar pack in finger palm position to be seen. However, the spectator will be viewing the extra sugar
pack, which hides the thumb tip and the sugar pack that they signed behind it. You don’t want to open your
fingers too much, you just want to convey the illusion that you are holding their sugar packet in your hand and
blowing on it. Now, once you’ve done this, maybe 2 seconds later, pull out the extra sugar pack, the one not
signed, from your hand and simultaneously close your fingers to hide what is on the other side of that packet - the
thumb tip and the signed packet, in that order. The illusion will be that you put their packet in your hand, blew on
it to dry the ink, then pulled it back out. Now, rip the packet in your hand open, they will think that you are ripping
the pack that they just signed open, as you’ve given them no reason to believe otherwise and pour the contents
into the closed fist of the dirty hand. Don’t rip the entire top off, just about four fifths of the way, to allow the sugar
to pour out and pour it into the thumb tip. Now, take the ripped open packet, ball it up, and push it in with the rest
of sugar that you’ve poured in. As you push this balled up packet into your fist, do a pinch steal in one smooth
motion. Now, open your hand up with the signed sugar packet and, while they stare in amazement at the fact that
they just saw you rip open their signed packet and there it is fully restored, you can ditch the tip with the sugar and
packet into your pocket. The misdirection here is extreme and you should be able to get away with openly
ditching the tip and not being caught.
Until next time, happy thumb tipping!
Mike.
6
Letter From Walter Zaney Blaney
MESSAGE TO THE MAGIC COMMUNITY IN THE USA FROM WALTER ZANEY BLANEY, PRESIDENT
EMERITUS WORLD ALLIANCE OF MAGICIANS (WAM)
I want to discuss the growing problem of a few unethical magic builders overseas who are building cheap rip-off
versions of many of the proprietary illusions invented by USA magicians. They are marketing them both overseas
and in the USA. I will name names, and I will suggest what can be done. But first let me explain.
I will begin by quoting the pertinent passages from the IBM and SAM joint "Universal Code of Ethics". Indeed most
magic organizations, including the Academy of Magical Arts (Magic Castle) and the English Magic Circle, also
subscribe to these stated ethics.
1. "We shall exhibit moral and ethical behavior....in our general conduct as magicians, including not interfering
with or jeopardizing the performance of another magician, either through personal intervention, or by THE
UNAUTHORIZED USE OF ANOTHER'S CREATION (my emphasis)."
2. "We must recognize and respect the rights of the creators, authors, inventors and owners of magic concepts,
presentations, effects, literature and recorded materials, and their rights to have exclusive use of, or grant
permission for the use by others of such creations."
3. "The organizations discourage advertising in magic publications for any magical apparatus, effect, literature or
other materials for which the advertiser does not have commercial or distribution rights."
With that said, as the first president of the World Alliance of Magicians (WAM), after our attempts to thwart the
Masked Magician TV exposure shows on Fox-TV, I helped shift WAM's focus onto this "other half" of our Code of
Ethics.
It began when a magic builder in Belgium named ROCA started building a cheap rip-off of my Zaney Blaney
Ladder Levitation in 1992. He sold them through several European magic dealers, primarily Select Magic in
Belgium. At first they even advertised it as the "Zaney Blaney Ladder Levitation as seen on David Copperfield's
TV Special". When I protested, they simply removed my name from their ads.
The owner of SELECT MAGIC, JEAN GARMINJ, then asked me to send the blueprint plans of my illusion, and if
what they were selling was EXACTLY like my invention, they would stop. I suppose GARMINJ and ROCA figured
I was just a dumb Texan, but I certainly didn't fall for that stupid ploy. ROCA had figured out less than half my
secret, and he wanted it all. Their prop did not work properly and they were getting many complaints from their
customers who wanted their money returned.
The several European magicians who had bought my legitimate illusion from me were understandably upset to
see my levitation advertised at less than half the price they had paid. And the rip-off was advertised as "greatly
improved". I suppose if someone is going to steal, they would have no qualms about lying as well. When later my
customers saw the rip-off copy they told me, "No problem, it doesn't work, it's a piece of junk."
More recently, a company in England, Illusions Plus, was selling still another rip-off of my illusion. When I
protested to the owner, JAMES ANTONY, he told me there was no court in the world which could stop him from
what he was doing. I explained I had no intention of going to court. I instead simply told my many friends in the
Magic Circle about it, as I am a proud MIMC member. They checked on ILLUSIONS PLUS and found there were
many customers who had never received the props they had ordered and paid for.
When the word spread, soon MR. ANTONY "had a problem". As things turned out, there was indeed a court
which promptly put him out of business...the bankruptcy court.
Now today in the USA there is a magic dealer named WOLFGANG WOLLET, with his company in Henderson,
Nevada, "ILLUSIONS & MORE, INC". He is advertising at least a dozen rip-off illusions, including my Ladder
Levitation, Jim Steinmeyer's Origami and Interlude, Jim Steinmeyer's Windshear (built and marketed by Bill
Smith's Magic Ventures), Mark Wilson's Train Sawing, Andre Kole's Pole Levitation, Dan Summer's Compressed,


Letter From Walter Zaney Blaney (cont.)
and a host of other proprietary illusions.
In fact he actually uses Dan Summer's illusion by name, "Compressed", and also the photo that appeared in
Dan's first ad in Magic Magazine. He cleverly pasted another lady's face over the face of Dan's assistant.
Maybe not so clever, as Dan now plans to sue WOLLET.
In October of 2000, two years ago, WOLLET called me on the phone and asked the price of my Ladder
Levitation. When I told him, he said he could get one from a builder in Palermo, Italy for less than half my price.
It took me a year to learn that WOLLET was the dealer in the USA selling the rip-off from Italy.
The rip-off builder is named FRANCESCO MARTORANA of MAGIC STUDIO DOMINIK. He is building
everyone's proprietary illusions without anyone's permission.
I have written WOLLET twice in recent weeks asking him to remove my illusion from his catalog along with all
the other rip-offs. He has not answered either letter, even after I told him I would write this letter to the magic
world if he refused. So he was fairly forewarned.
I have been told that MARTORANA has been quoted as saying, "I am a magic builder. I will build anyone's
illusion for anyone who wants to buy one. If they wish to pay extra money to the inventors, that is their
business, don't bother me with it." Okay, so much for the ethics of FRANCESCO MARTORANA and his
STUDIO MAGIC DOMINIK, and the ethics of WOLFGANG WOLLET and his ILLUSIONS & MORE INC.
Now, what do we do? Back in July, 2000, WAM arranged for a dozen top magician lawyers to meet together in
Cincinnati, along with the international presidents of IBM and SAM. We had an excellent discussion on the
subject of rip-offs and secrets exposure for over three hours. Subsequently WAM arranged for many hours of
legal research to see how magicians could be protected by patents, copyrights, trade secrets laws and such,
and we published a book titled "PROTECTING MAGICIAN'S SECRETS". (If interested, see our information on
how to purchase a copy on our WAM website: http://www.MAGICIANSALLIANCE.COM
The bottom line is, it is difficult and expensive to try to legally protect our secrets and our intellectual property.
However WAM has written proposed legislation that we want to take to the U.S. Congress, which if passed,
could materially help magicians in this respect. We hope one day to get enough contributions to move forward
on this plan.
Meanwhile, Plan B is to do something that I have found works: TELL THE WORLDWIDE MAGIC COMMUNITY
WHO THE "BAD GUYS" ARE, NAME THE NAMES.
There will always be a MARTORANA or a WOLLET around to take and take and never give, to break our Code
of Ethics, to show no respect to those who create our new magic. But I have faith that the honest magicians of
the world will choose NOT to trade with the "bad guys" when they learn who they are. All we have to do is TELL
THE TRUTH, expose them just as they have stolen from us and exposed our secrets.
There will also always be those magicians who freely choose to deal with these "bad guys". To save a few
bucks they show no respect for our magic inventors. They help take away the incentive of those who create,
and thus they harm the future of the art of magic.
No one but those relatively few who have created a new illusion or trick can fully comprehend the amount of
time, hard work, inspiration, money invested and passion it takes to perfect and market a successful new
magical creation. My bet is that the vast majority of magicians WILL have the proper respect for our art and
our inventors. And for those who don't, they take a real risk on an inferior product, one that may not even work
(or actually be dangerous in its construction) , and one that may not even be delivered. While trying to get their
money refunded, they join a long line of other losers. They end up getting ripped off themselves, which they
justly deserve.
I know immediate past international president of SAM, Warren Kaps, formed a Blue Ribbon Committee to work

Letter From Walter Zaney Blaney (cont.)
on this very problem, and I'm sure IBM also is considering something similar. I know the editors of MUM and The
Linking Ring are working hard to carefully weed out advertising from the "bad guys".
I hope this letter is printed in as many magic magazines as possible, and will be put on the internet to the various
magic group websites, and will be forwarded to your many magic friends around the world.
I recall one very good magic magazine editor who recently said , "With the internet, there is no place left to hide."
It's time we take a strong stand now. I hope this letter will be just the beginning.
Walter Zaney Blaney President Emeritus World Alliance of Magicians (WAM)
The 3 M’s of Magic
When you perform there are three things that you must understand.
(1) Misdirection
This is possibly the most important skill you can utilise with magic. This is the ability of making the audience look
where you want them to look and sense what you want them to sense. Do not look at where the action is
occurring, only where the action is supposed to be taking place. For example, if you want the audience to think
that you are holding a sponge ball in your left hand, you must look at your hand and act as if there really was a
sponge ball there. If you act as though you believe, your audience are more likely to believe in what you are doing
too. You can also use misdirection to draw attention away from an area. Look at where the magic is supposed to
be happening and the audience will look there too.
Keep your actions as normal and as unaffected as possible. To be convincing you must act as if what you are
doing is completely normal. Study how your hands move when you transfer a coin from hand to hand and then
repeat the same moves precisely as you perform the appropriate sleight.
Patter (the words that you use) not only interest and relax an audience, they can also be used to make the
audience take more attention of you and less of your hands. Identity the times in your act that you are more prone
to unwanted attention and use misdirection to diminish the risks.
(2) Motivation
This is the skill in deceiving your audience to believe that you are not doing anything suspicious at the very time
that you really are. If you put your hand in your pocket to ditch a coin, the suspicions of the audience will be
enhanced - but if you put your hand in your pocket to remove a wand then there will be a logical reason for your
actions and so you can use this action to ditch a coin without arousing additional suspicion. When there is a need
to perform a suspicious move, find an excuse for performing that very manoeuvre using your normal body actions.
(3) Moment
During any routine there are two important moments; the instant that the magic seems to have taken place and
the instant that the magic actually did take place. Your objective is to increase the period between these two times
so that potential suspicions can be allayed and that the magic can have a greater impact. You can convince the
audience that the magic has taken place at any particular moment by clicking your fingers, waving a wand or
chanting an appropriate phrase. Choose your time to do this carefully so that you can draw their attention away
from the instant that you actually secretly did the trick some time before.
By Nigel Shelton


An Interview With Ian Rowland
IAN ROWLAND
THE MINDREADER WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD
Huw Collingbourne interviews this influential and controversial British mentalist exclusively for Top Hat.
One of Britain’s top mentalists, Ian Rowland is admired by many top performers and reviled by others. On the
one hand, he has written what many people regard to be the definitive book on the art of ‘cold reading’. On the
other hand, he has explained some of the principles of the art on American television. This has led some
mentalists to accuse Ian of exposure.
We decided that it was time that Ian had the chance to give his own side of the story. In this interview, Ian tells
us all about his views on exposure and gives us the low-down on that now famous (or notorious, depending on
your point of view) TV show. But first wanted to know a bit more about Ian’s own approach to performing…
Huw: To start things off, I wonder how you would describe yourself as a performer: a magician, a mentalist, a
psychic entertainer? Or something else?
Ian: Mindreader. Sometimes, if the context warrants it, I add mind-motivator.
Huw: You seem unimpressed by John Edward (according to an article on your web site). Can you explain why,
if Edward has so many 'misses', so many millions of viewers believe he's the real thing?
Ian: I don't presume to know what millions of people think or why. Ask them. My two cents guess would be they
believe because they want to. Psychic powers are as real as you want them to be.
Huw: Do you think there is at least the possibility that 'psychic's such as Edward or Sylvia Browne might, in
fact, be genuine?
Ian: Of course. 'Possible' isn't the issue.
Huw: In the past, it seems there was a clear distinction between 'mental magicians' and 'psychics'. These days
the boundaries seem a bit blurred. Many people who claim to be psychics in public acknowledge themselves to
be mentalists among fellow performers. How do you feel about that?
Ian: Fine. Taking the "I'm for real" route can lead to problems, such as rather emotionally needy people latching
on to you as a sort of all-knowing messiah. I prefer to follow the example of Mark Twain. He said "I always tell
the truth. That way, I never have to remember anything". Works for me.
Huw: I know you are very interested in language as a tool of performance and persuasion. What, would you
say, are the most important linguistic techniques that a magician or mentalist can employ to enhance their
performance?
Ian: Am I? I'm not aware that I've any special interest in language as you suggest. Kenton Knepper seems to
be the expert in that area.
Huw: Which book, or other resources, would you recommend to those performers who might want to learn how
to make language work to their advantage?
Ian: No idea.
Huw: No idea? Hang on a minute! You’ve talked about this subject on previous occasions. On one magic
discussion group, for example, you specifically recommended the following books, all of which deal with the use
of language:
Vance Packard, 'The Hidden Persuaders'; David Ogilvy, 'Ogilvy on Advertising'; Michael Wheeler, 'Lies,
0

An Interview With Ian Rowland (cont.)
Damned Lies And Statistics'; A J Ayer, 'Language, Truth And Logic'; Stephan Schiffman, 'Cold Calling Techniques';
Stephen Pinker, 'The Language Instinct' and S Morris Engel, 'Fallacies And Pitfalls Of Language'.
In fact, you specifically recommended the Engel book as “a masterpiece of analysis and enjoyable writing which
goes light years beyond Kenton Knepper’s 'Wonder Words'”. I'd say that suggests to me that you might have
slightly more of an informed interest in linguistic techniques than you would have us believe!
Ian: Well, it's perfectly possible I've got my own wires crossed and that I've contradicted myself. Could happen.
However, I guess there's a distinction to be made. I took your question to refer to ways in which one can apply
language deceptively in live performance (the kind of thing which Kenton Knepper writes about). If I recall correctly,
the books I listed have very little to do with this. They have more to do with things like persuasion (in different
media, and in different contexts, not necessarily anything to do with spoken words during a performance) and the
way one can subvert the reasoning process by which people reach conclusions. This DOES interest me a great
deal.
Huw: Most of the time you seem to take quite a subtle approach to the nuances of performance. But, at the other
extreme, you also do 'sensational' routines such as 'psychic surgery'. What's the attraction of blood and guts?
Ian: I'm not attracted to blood and guts. Now and again certain kinds of sceptical audiences like to see the psychic
surgery routine, so if it's appropriate then I'll include it. I'm not sure it serves any great purpose, but it is fairly
dramatic and it can be fun.
Huw: On your site, you also say that you often get requests to hammer nails into your head. I haven't seen you do
that (I'm glad to say!). It sounds incredibly dangerous. Is it? If not, how can I learn to do it… .?"
Ian: It can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. It's the kind of thing that you have to be shown how to
do by someone who already knows the fine details. I was shown by a friend in Italy.
Huw: As you know, many mentalists have attacked you for exposing secrets. recently, for instance, you did an
exposure of cold reading in America on ABC's 'Primetime' show. How do you justify what you did?
Ian: Sorry, but I can't agree with the premises in your question.
… “Many mentalists”?
I'm not sure about this. I know there are some people who belong to a certain prominent organisation and who
have written angry comments. I respect the organisation they belong to, but I'm not sure they are very good
representatives of it. There may be others critics too, outside that particular organisation. However, these people do
not necessarily constitute a well-informed majority. I've had lots and lots of emails from mentalists congratulating
me on my work, encouraging me, supporting me. This includes some people in that same prominent organisation.
So you can slice and dice the evidence either way. And in any event, whatever opinions may be flying around, I
don't accept that I'm guilty of exposure and I don't think the facts support that allegation.
… "attacked you for exposing secrets"?
This may be true of some of the people concerned. But it would be a mistake to credit all of them with a logical,
cause-and-effect basis for their anger. Some of them were attacking me long before the Primetime piece was even
a twinkle in a producer's eye. One of them hates me simply because a long time ago he asked for a free review
copy of my cold reading book and I refused to give him one, on the basis that I'd never be allowed to see whatever
review he wrote. He's disliked me ever since. And he's entitled to. Why should I imagine everyone's going to like
me? I'd prefer it if he and I were friends, because I'm a friends sort of person. But he doesn't want that, and it's his
loss. Talk to people in this art who've made friends with me. Ask them if I'm a good friend to have.
… ”You did an exposure on Primetime”?.
I disagree. Look, before I get into this, let me say that if people just want to get angry and throw a few insults my
way, well, that's their choice. Be my guest. I have a lot of friends in this art, and they find a lot more in me than just
11
n Interview With Ian Rowland (cont.)
a target for ill-founded abuse. Criticism is fine, but it's only worth anything - and worth paying attention to - if it's
informed and constructive.
So, for anyone who actually wants the facts, let me offer a few.
I've been passionately interested in cold reading for a long time. I'm interested in what it can do, how and why it
works and what it tells us about human nature. I've heard a lot of nonsense spoken about what CR can and can't
achieve, both from sceptics and their opponents, but the only way to know is to try it. Prior to 'Primetime', I'd never
had the chance to try CR in the style of a spirit medium doing the 'hotline to heaven' schtick. ABC television
offered me this one-off golden opportunity to try cold reading in this style, and they were willing to take the
experiment seriously, and to deal with all the moral, legal and tact issues involved. So I took it.
And that's why I did it. To explore what impressions this style of cold reading can give to the performer (in this
case myself) and the audience, and to deepen my own knowledge and experience in this field.
Did I do it for money? No. I'm not saying if I got paid, or if I did how much, because nobody needs to know. Let me
just point out that this piece was produced by ABC News division, not the Entertainment division. Anyone who
wants to know can call ABC News and ask what their official policy is on paying contributors.
Did I do it for the attention, or to build my career? No. I don't need the attention. And in any case you can't build a
career giving this kind of demonstration.
Did I do it to sell more books? No.
Did I do it because I'm on a crusade to protect or educate the public? No. The public aren't asking me to educate
or protect them, and even if they were, who's to say I'm a fit teacher? I haven't seen the piece yet, but apparently
the way ABC editorialised it, they gave the impression that I'm on some sort of mission. Well, they skewed it that
way, not me. That's not what it was about as far as I'm concerned.
Did I do it to hit out at prominent psychics or to strike a blow for sceptics? No. I did it for the reason stated. End of
story. If sceptics want to make capital out of it, that's their business, not mine.
So, that's my reason. But I wouldn't have done it at all if I felt it constituted exposure. I have never, and will never,
expose any secret or methodology which will harm contemporary entertainers (be they magicians or mentalists).
I'm okay with giving a lecture or going on TV and explaining psychic surgery, because no-one uses it for
entertainment. Even then, I won't show the thumb-tip method because I think this is crossing the line. So I use a
cruder, less sophisticated method which is good enough to get the basic point across about con artists, but not
going to damage the interests of entertainers.
I'm pretty widely read in mentalism, but I've yet to see a mentalism trick or routine for which the 'method' in the
instructions says 'use cold reading'. Now, it's true that some mentalists use CR to embellish a trick or dress up a
routine. But some of them also use dry ice or candles or spooky music or black clothing. That doesn't make dry
ice or candles etc. a magic secret. If I go round telling people how to get frozen CO2 and let it melt in water, is this
a magic secret? Of course not, even though some magi may apply it to a pet mentalism effect. Ditto with CR. It's
not a magic secret. If I thought it was, I would treat it as such.
Other people are, of course, entitled to a different opinion. And I'm entitled to mine, based on the 36 years I've
been entertaining people with magic and mentalism. That's the way it looks to me.
Huw: Derren Brown often explains many of his routines by reference to psychology. Frankly, it seems to me that
claiming a special psychological acuity is no more satisfactory an explanation of some of Derren's 'miracles' than
claiming a psychic ability. Wouldn't it be reasonable, therefore, to make a case for exposing some of Derren
Brown's claims as 'fraudulent'?
Ian: Not in my book because I'm not into exposure. See above. As for Derren, he's entertaining people and doing
a superb job of it. He and his team who put together the 'Mind Control' shows are deserving of the highest praise
and admiration.
2

An Interview With Ian Rowland (cont.)
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Elastic Band Magic
When someone pulls a pack of playing cards from their pocket and starts a number of elaborate flourishes, you
soon begin to realise that this person is an accomplished magician and you expect to see some magical tricks to
follow. Your anticipation of a magical finale slightly diminishes the impact that such a finale may produce. For
example, when you see a lady climb into a box and the magician draws out a saw, you expect that he is going to
cut her into half. The trick is entertaining but the surprise is diminished by the expectation that something magical
is about to happen.
However, if you saw a performer walk into the spotlight and then pick that light off the stage, hold in his hands and
release the image of a flying bird made from glowing lights you may well be entranced with the beauty and
imagery of this effect because you were caught up, unaware by the fact that something magical was about to take
place. This is the power that elastic bands have. They are so common and inexpensive that they are something
that we all take for granted.
If someone picks up two elastic bands, we don't really expect anything magical to occur afterwards and so, when
it does, we find ourselves spell-bound by the effect. Elastic bands are objects that we all have handled so many
times in the past that we take their properties for granted. We know that they are continuous bands of rubber and
that they cannot link together. We know that, once broken into two, they cannot be made whole again. We know
that rubber can't pass through other solid objects, such as other rubber bands. We know all this and more. The
properties of rubber are so simple that we do not feel the need to question these ourselves.
Therefore, when these magical effects do actually happen we are taken totally by surprise - because the simplest
rules that govern our world seem to be shattered and desecrated. This is strong magic at it's strongest!
If a spectator feels confident with the properties of the material that is being handled, if a spectator has knowledge
and understanding of the object itself, if the spectator is not expecting an effect to take place; then what is
produced is a very powerful form of magic indeed. This is the power of elastic band magic.
Elastic bands also have the advantage of being found in a wide variety of known environments. They are readily
available in the classroom, the workplace or the home. Therefore, when they are utilised in an impromptu routine,
Huw: Finally, what advice would you give to someone who wants to learn the ropes of mentalism or 'psychic
entertainment'? Where should they start and what should they aim for?
Ian: I wouldn't give advice, because I'm not in any position to. I suppose if pushed I'd say don't go round asking
for advice! Just do it. Perform. Learn by experience. It's the only teacher that matters.
For more information on Ian Rowland, or to order the latest (3rd) edition of his book, ‘Full Facts Of Cold Reading’,
visit his web site:
http://www.ian-rowland.com/
Ian tells us that his book has been revised and reset throughout. There are about 15,000 more words than in the
2nd edition, including a completely new section about the potential application of cold reading techniques in nonpsychic
contexts. It is only available from Ian’s web site.
A ‘primer’ on Cold Reading
Cold reading is a method of secretly pumping one or more people for information in such a way that it appears
that the ‘psychic’ or mentalist has actually obtained the information by mindreading or (more commonly) from the
spirits of the dead. Some people, such as James Randi, believe that many top American psychics including John
Edward use ‘cold reading’. You can find a brief discussion of cold reading on Randi’s site: http://www.randi.org/
library/coldreading/index.html
By Huw Collingbourne & Ian Rowland
3
A big thank you to all contributors of this month’s TOPHAT.
I’ll see you next month with more top articles and magic effects from members of MagicBunny.co.uk
Yours Magically,
Jon Snoops
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Elastic Band Magic (cont.)
they can be taken from the local environment itself. When the props are taken from the spectator, or the
immediate environment of the spectator, there exists a naive form of trust that absolutely nothing "fixed" can
happen. There is the belief that the props are free from tampering and completely trustworthy. This too,
produces a very strong overall effect.
One final advantage of elastics is that they are small and easily transported. There does not exist the need to
carry boxes or crates of gimmicks and tricks. You could very easily carry a bunch of elastic bands in a trouser
pocket with you for weeks at a time and then perform an impromptu routine at the drop of a hat.
By Nigel Shelton
So - You want to be a Star, do you?
This is the sixth part in the “So - You want to be a star, do you?” series. Written by Nigel Shelton, this gives
great advice about how you can jump the gap from being a hobbyist to a professional in magic. This section
reveals the secrets of getting publicity by asking a newspaper to print a piece about you. If you’ve missed any
previous parts, look in the e-zine archive accessible from the MagicBunny.co.uk site.
A particularly powerful way of gaining local recognition is through the use of a regional newspaper.
Most towns and cities in Great Britain print a weekly or daily paper that contains just articles of a local nature.
You need only flick through these pages, however, to gain an understanding of how difficult it can sometimes
be to fill these pages. During my time as a freelance reporter, I repeatedly struggled to find articles of a
noteworthy calibre. Week by week the main front page heading would be something of the form of…
Local Market Gardener Grows Straight Cucumber
Yes, believe me, the local press really do struggle to find sufficient high calibre material to fill their pages. This
is why, not only can they prove to be a powerful allay, but you can also exert a slight degree of editorial voice
when you submit any appropriate material. Let me explain….
Some local papers produce forms for outside bodies to complete when submitting information. These forms
usually consist of a first section with important information such as your name, telephone number, the date
and so on. After this there may be an extended space to write the necessary information. If your paper does
not produce forms such as these, then you should use wide ruled lined paper and take care that you start by
including any appropriate information before writing your article. This should include; your name, your age (if
you are a minor), your address, your telephone number (daytime and evening), your email address, contact
information, the date of submission, a brief description of the nature of the report and notes on whether the
report contains additional material such as photographs. This should all be laid out clearly before the main
article is written.
By Nigel Shelton

[NeroCupo]

Grande come sempre
Mi ci vorrà un po' per leggerlo, temo, immagino quanto tempo abbia impegnato te per scrivero
Nero

PS: Per i meno anglofoni, ricordarsi che c'è Google che tradfuce (da cani, ma traduce... )
PPS: Ho appena fatto la prova di traduzione, è proprio da cani la traduzione che Google dà, armatevi quindi di una buona dose di pazienza

[ruben]

Lo so. PERDONATEMI,ma molte letture di magia sono in inglese.

[MagoSantoch]

Sei già stato gentilissimo a condividere con noi tutto questo materiale. Penso che un po' di impegno nella traduzione possa solo farcene apprezzare di più il contenuto.
Grazie mille.

[DavideL]

Mi unisco ai ringraziamenti, una miniera d'oro.

[magogiova]

grazie mille