Dave’s Modern Magic - Inaugural Post

Mission Statement

The mission of this experiment, or blog, will be to chronicle one man’s journey through some classic magical texts. Through this experiment I hope to bring to light some great magic books that might have been overlooked in recent years. I also hope that through this experiment some magicians find inspiration to pick up an older magic book and find a “gem” for themselves.

Here we go...

So hello out there to anyone who is reading this blog. If you found this blog by accident great, if not welcome to the inaugural post. This experiment will hopefully be the beginning of something worthwhile.

So I know what you are thinking, what is Dave’s Modern Magic? Essentially this will be, One Man’s Journey through Magic Books One Trick at a Time.

This all started as a challenge to myself, could I actually work through an entire magic book learning every trick in the book, and not just the ones that I felt suited me. I have tried this before but always fell short. So I thought creating this blog would keep me honest and on track. Just saying I worked through everything would not be enough for me so this is where the Internet comes in.

Here’s how I hope this will work:
First I will pick a book that I have always wanted to work through and start at the beginning. Giving myself a deadline of one week to learn the trick, video myself performing the trick and then post it here for all to see and comment on.

Why am I doing this:
This is bound to change over time, but as of right now here is what I have. First and foremost to accomplish something I have never done before, learning an entire magic book cover to cover. I also hope to provide a video archive of some classic close-up found in older magic books. Plus working through these classic texts will hopefully expand my close-up repertoire and enhance my close-up “chops” as well.

Book Selection:
I will choose the books at the beginning strictly on personal preference. Later on if you want to recommend a book you can send an email suggesting a title. I will not take on any extremely large tomes, such as the Stuart James Collection. One goal for this blog will be to cover at least 2 books a year, if I can do more great. I will also try to vary my selections so you can see magic from various times, various authors and hopefully see a progression in technique and ideas.

Mandatory Disclaimer:
I do not claim originality to any of the effects I will present. You will know what book the effect is from and who the proper credits belong to. 95% of the effect presented will be as written; I am giving myself 5% leeway just in case I make a slight handling change to better suit myself.
So one more time, these are not original effects.

Sounds easy right, I hope so but things are usually never as easy as it seems.

Finally, I am not doing this to be recognized. As stated above, I am doing this to shed light on some books that may have been overlooked or even forgotten. I am supplying an email at the bottom so if you have any questions or want to let me know what you think of the blog please drop me an email.

Next week I will post the first book I will begin to work through …

So, let the journey begin!