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No. no, calm down , Lawrens doesn't work that fast, this is my part 2 follow-up to the blog entry i posted some time ago upon receiving 'Moneypulation' by Lawrens Godon.

Since then I have been practicing hard and getting my head around some of the very powerful moves Lawrens reveals on this DVD, in many cases for the first time.  Yes, I could have gone straight out and copied various of the moves and routines directly from the DVD and put them into performance, Lawrens I'm sure would not be offended in the slightest, as he is a very generous teacher and mentor with plenty of time to devote to questions on technique arising from the DVD.

I have to say this particular DVD has had a profound effect on me and my performing style.

The DVD is taught in silence, just incidental music, scene changes, subtitles and a very innovative way of changing from colour to mono-chrome when an important point is reached in the lesson.  I work in silence, mime, but that isn't why I like it and why I say its had such an effect on me;  The DVD teaches the moves and subtleties in such a way that they can stand alone, they can become weapons in your arsenal rather than  moves in a routine, that is the essence of Moneypulation, not a DVD on how to do the routines outlined but how you can create your own routines regardless of bounderies and common pre-conceptions.

You will feel enpowered to take your performance to a whole new level because of how natural the moves feel once you have got them down, nothing on this DVD will take you months or years to master, the simplicity of the moves is mirrored only by the simplicity of the teaching.  If you can give this technique a couple of hours a day the moves start to become natural, like a second sense.  Your hands will very soon be doing things without any apparent conscious control and that is, as you already know, the essence of pure magic.

Well, thanks guys for your looks and Andrew for your suggestion you were nearly on it.

The mystery item is in fact a 'change Tray' for sponge.  I have to thank both Andy at Alkazam Magic UK & the very patient man at the MAGIC CIRCLE London who inspite of my rather dippy description managed to locate a very similar object in their collection dating form the thirties.

A very similar item is still available today to do a dice to ball transposition, though from what I have seen leaves an awful lot to be desired in the construction department, definitely won't stand up to the riggers of performance and look as good as this one in thirty years.

You would show a large sponge ball and the tray both sides, then in turning the tray would then release one of the traps to release x number of tiny sponge balls, whilst vanishing the larger ball.  I am sure there would be many other uses using sponge including the dice to ball I mentioned earlier.

This is an unusual item I received recently, please see the pictures I've uploaded.

After many days lost and lonely wandering through the vacant passages and endless voids, that are cyberspace, the missing blog has been returned.

Sheriff V, having followed up various leads finally tracked it down, risking life and limb to a quiet corner of 'the memory back-up', a place few rarely go, a place of untold dust and ancient entries dating back to the inception of time and TMN itself.

So, your plans have been foiled, the blog lives on and will go from strength to strength to follow the learning curve that is............................Coin & Card Manipulation!!!!

For the person who finds my stolen blog!!

One minute it was here.......................... then 'puff' in a shroud of smoke it was gone!! :-(

Sheriff V says he knows the whereabouts of some of it and is endeavoring to bring it back to its rightful owner as we speak, but sadly these things take time.

This is probably a hugh long shot guarenteed to get me not much further than I have already gone, but I really could do with some help here.
About 20 years ago there was a company or a guy, I'm not too sure called Pressley Guitar.  They or he specialized in making precision magic props etc
I know he did some leather chop cups, worth their weight in gold now I gather, but also the company made special gaffed coins, he did a silver - copper I believe but also an expanding coin?  I feel like I'm heading into magic folklaw a bit here as these are things people here in the UK have spoken of, and indeed I've heard mention of them at the Magic Circle in London, but sadly never seen any or found anyone who knows anything more about the person/ company.
My question is this:- Who was this guy, was it a company or just a 'one man band', is he still producing items now?, where is he based, did he/they get taken over by one of the larger companies ie Eddie Gibson?
Any information would be great, but I am looking to find out more about this expanding coin I've heard mystical tales of and also did he produce the first folding coin?

Thanks for your help
Lukie

Hi Again,  Well the first part of the weekend seems to have shot by and although I have been practising solidly now for a day and a half, progress is slow to say the least.  Don't get me wrong, I am not saying for one minute that its impossible, in fact, far from it, the teaching techniques employed on Moneypulation Vol1 by Lawrens are first rate.  I would say, almost guarentee to take you from adaquate to extremly competant in a very short space of time, but time, commitment and an awful lot of practice are going to be required.

I thought I was a reasonably competent coin worker before, having worked through the DVD I now realise how little I knew.  Every minute of the routines that you are taken through shows you a new way of concealing, producing and manipulating the coin(s), many of the holds and concealments will be new to you, they were to me, but they work so well.
I got frustated at times, muscle pass etc. but I have to say the sense of elation when I got it right and something just 'clicked' made it worth while.

I'm lovin' it, I'm going to do it, and now am even allowing myself to look forward to thinking of what can be learned from volume 2 in the future.  Trust the teaching techniques to get you through, stop the DVD, go back, look at it again, use the slow motion recaps and slowly it comes together, this is a course for the long haul.  I'am even now trying to think of ways that some of these wonderfully creative moves could be used in other areas of magic to make a really saleable, individual routine that I can take out onto the streets.

I will keep you informed on progress and when I can I shall post some videos of my efforts which some of you may like to see, (to have a good laugh over if nothing else lol)

Lukie

Hi Everyone,

Having been waiting with baited breath for the last 5 days, it has arrived, direct from France, direct from the hands of the man himself!

I am, of course refering to 'Moneypulation Vol 1' by Lawrens Godon which I was lucky enough to be chosen to have won in this months, TheMagicNetwork competition, 'Ask Lawrens Godon' amid such strong competition put up by fellow members here on the site.

I shall be writing a review of the DVD in due course over the weekend, but I just wanted to say by way of this blog, my initial feelings having watched it all the way through, several times since it was delivered this morning.  The production values are fantastic, the use of colour and monochrome (to highlight the important bits!) are not only very clever but add to the sense of drama as the move (s) unfold.  The soundtrack is very clever and works on many levels, again to enhance the mood but also to bring attention to key points.

If you buy nothing else this year and you are a coin worker, juggler or even to a slightly lesser degree, a mime, BUY THIS DVD!!!  The lesser known and more obscure moves that Lawrens has bought back to life in this production are amazing, for a person, like myself, insanely interested in the history of this fair art, its characters, its history and its developement, the credits and bibliography at the end, are worth the cover price alone.
The signature move of this DVD, 'The Dynamic Back Thumb Palm' is, when you watch it at working speed a pleasure to behold and in slow motion in the recaps mesmerizing, its is one of the most ingenious moves ever created for your arsenal. 
Here Lawrens has changed forever the way we think of coin magic or Manipulation, he has in fact taken the first steps in making this a whole new presentation art.   From the idea of fixed point, which he uses throughout and then again, so well in his chrystal ball routine at the very end, to his use of facial expression and body movement to enhance the moment of magic.

Guys, I make no bones about it, I have been a fan of Lawrens work for many, many years but I have to say 'Moneypulation' goes far, far beyond anything I've seen in a long time, I am going to be watching this and learning from it all over the weekend, some of the moves I have never heard of let alone used but thats what you get here, a fantastic journey into the University of coin manipulation.

Lukie 

I was looking through a load of old photographs the other day and came across a whole load by an Edwardian photographer named Lewis Wickes Hine in 1929.

He chose, at that time, to chronicle the construction of the Empire State Building in New York and whilst this is not scrictly what we would call magic, it is amazing how they managed to build the then, tallest building in the world out of nothing but an oversized mechano set!

If you look at the three pictures here, tell me, would David Blaine, David Copperfield or the like really go to these lengths?  To be fair, these guys probably got paid a fraction of what some guys in our field do for a 45 minute gig.
Take care

Lukie

I made a post earlier about the Morgan Dollar following up on a comment by a fellow member on the expense of buying one of these coins.  They are beautiful I must admit but, and I think its a big but, unless you are lucky enough to find one in a garage or boot sale for hardly any money it does seem a shame to use and invariably scuff and scratch it.  They now have a very strong collectors market and a scuffed, scratched coin will lose most, if not all its value.
My thought, and I have been doing this for a while, is flashing and using a large Morgan dollar for no 'contact' moves but when I then produce several into the same hand I swap out the morgan and replace it/them with a Crown.  These are extremly cheap to purchase here in the UK and also on ebay internationally, they are the same size, weight and look but they are a copper nickel alloy, making them way cheaper.
I find if I do the initial flashing etc. up close and then as I move away to do 'the moves' etc, swap in the crown, nobody ever notices, atleast no one has ever mentioned it, so thats good enough for me :-)). 
To be fair, I don't think anyone would ever pay any attention to it anyway and its such a lovely size and weight to use that quite oten I tell them I'm using a dollar and they believe me, maybe ofcourse thats easier in the UK, but its just an idea guys and it will save a whole heap of money
Hope this helps

Lukie

Sitting here now thinking about a new routine for my Fushigi ball got me to wondering, what was the first trick some of you guys ever bought, learned or performed?
With a profusion of packet tricks and magic kits out there these days its so easy for people with an interest, to get their hands on magic in all its different forms.  But, like those other momentous moments in life, no one ever forgets their first, so what was yours?
Mine and even now I remember it, rather cringingly it should be said, but remember it none the less, was the ubiquitous '4 jacks in the house'.  You know the one, 4 jacks are shown and then placed at various points 'in the house' (deck) and amazingly all end up, big flash and pooof,  on the roof!!
Come on guys, I was 7, be nice!!
Hopefully I've gone on to better things now but I still remember the pleasure and satisfaction of being able to do it and moreover, showing it to people, seeing their reaction and wanting to recreate that with something new.  As many of you may have guessed, I'm a bit of a bookworm and I love the works on magic published in the late 18th & early 19th century, the moves, the ideas and motivations of those early forerunners just gets me hooked.  I have often wondered what got them started in those times (hunger apart obviously), sadly unless already stated in their writing, we can't ask them. 
So, I thought, with so many great names in magic now here on the magic network, it would be a good time to ask the current luminaries of our field, "WHAT WAS THE FIRST TRICK YOU EVER BOUGHT OR PERFORMED"

Lukie 

I have just posted a review of Davenports in Central London and I thought you may like this.
As a quick side note, I called them one day regarding an old manuscript for a trick which I found in an old magic book.  Having been put through to the lady who dealt with such things and explained what I had,  I received what was probably the best piece of advice from anyone I have ever received, I stick to it even now.
The manuscript was written and signed by Peter Warlock, the lady on the other end of the telephone was Betty Davenport, the Grand-Daughter of the late, great Lewis Davenport, what she said to me was 'Yes, I knew him, he was a great friend and a marvelous magician.  Go away and learn it, perform it, you wont find much better!!'
Thats what I did and she was bang on right, it is one of the best card to anywhere routines I have ever used! 
I carry that bit of advice with me now,  when I'm looking through a conjoring book from the turn of the century and thinking, 'Oh, thats a bit bland or old hat' I try it out and you would be amazed at some of the reactions you get from people when you show them.
Lukie.

One idea I did have was that we could set up a library of magic DVD's and other instructional media so that we could share knowledge that way.  I know there are video's up already but I was thinking more of DVD's that one member might have to buy when another member may have it sitting there on a shelf doing nothing, - Like me.  I don't know if there would be copyright issues and I don't want to do anyone out of royalties but I just thought in these cash straightened times it might be a kool idea.
Anyway, just a thought and like I say, if its a non starter then I am happy to be corrected,

Lukie

Hi Guys, my name is Ian Luke and I'm on here as Masterofillusion and on Twitter as Lukiesillusions, yes, I know, confusing by the MOI is my hotmail addy and I've had it a while. My friends call me Lukie.
I love magic, have done since I was a kid, but as I 'grow up' instead of wanting to make learning the magic easier I seem to be wanting to make it harder.  Instead of buying a packet trick in the morning and using it in a performance, impromptu or otherwise, in the afternoon I would much rather spend three weeks learning and perfecting the same, bone crunchingly, finger numbing techniques in order to do the same thing.  The satisfaction I gain from being able, at the end of a trick to throw the cards down on a table or in their laps and know that the magic will live on way past what I have done because there's nothing for them to find, no gaffs, no crimps, just cards.  That is a feeling you can't replace and I am sure I'm not the only one here who gets that, its good aint' it!!
I recently got a deck of the 'berry back' cards, I love them, the colour both back and front seems to give the cards a whole new feel and they float so nice for a fan.  I love the history of magic too, the Victorian Parlour Magicians, Lewis Davenport, Dai Vernon, the great Alex Elmsley but also all things theatrical and magic, Lewis Ganson and his stage work and of course Grimaldi, the Clown, they all have a part and I love being able to recreate their work and 'try' to bring it back to life.
I see from the members list there are some true legends of magic here and I am so looking forward to being able to learn from you and pick up pointers which, I hope will make me a better magician, wherever that may take me.
Oh my days, I do go on, better shut up now as I'm sure your looking at this and thinking, 'how much more!!'. 
Its great to be here guys, this is gonna be great!!