Bizarre and Unexplained

Look for Magic in the news... Try not to let these things get away... they are background grist for your magical creative process, and story fodder.


Monster Cyclone on Mars ... well my budget wouldn't be large enough to make magic from this idea.


Dramatic Whale-Hunt Ritual is Successful
"The ancient taste of tradition was brought back to
the Makah Indians on a chilly Pacific beach - the nutty, slightly salty taste of whale blubber, freshly butchered from the corpse of a female gray whale."

Moving the Grand Canyon
Would you believe that, for a moment during
the creative process, the mighty Grand Canyon was moved to Colorado from Arizona?




Unexplained Booms, Bee Collapse, & Ancient Structures:

Recently, an investigative reporter, and colleague, dealt with the bizarre and still-unexplained metallic, jolting booms that have persisted into April 2012, including in three geographic locations from central Ohio to Tacoma, Washington, to San Diego County, California - all within a 24-hour period. In all three cases, there was no military confirmation of sound-barrier-breaking aircraft and no USGS evidence of seismic events.


The Coin

I selected an item similar to these, and from
the back of the room, one of the guys said that he knows someone who told him that I could flip a coin into the air and
cause the coin to land and remain on its edge. I said that this was true, and I hadn't done that effect in years, since it had a "strange" effect on people. 
As is often the case, they asked me... "how did you do that?"
I responded...
"I Shake my foot a little," and look at your foot..."Does it show?"

Effect: 
The magician shows a glass, upside down, and a coin on a sheet of colored paper. 
He puts a handkerchief over the glass and moves it over. 
He pulls the handkerchief off and Abracadabra! the coin has disappeared. 


Supplies: 
A sheet of construction paper,  a clear glass, a handkerchief and a coin. 


Preparation:  
Trace the glass onto the sheet of paper and cut the circle out.  Then tape it to the glass so when you put it onto a piece of paper the same color it blends in.



Secret: 
When you do the above put the glass onto a piece of paper and just basically move the paper covered glass over the coin while the whole thing is under the handkerchief so the glass covers the coin.  Pull off the handkerchief.  The coin will have "disappeared."





These effect ideas add adventure, and anticipation and electricity to your magical environment. Isn't that what you're trying to build?




Yours in Magic, 
MindMyst

The Vine of Lost Souls

research idea


The Vine of Lost Souls


Shamans of the
Amazon rain forest believe the vine called ayahuasca has
medicinal properties and they use it to make a potent
hallucinogenic brew for their religious rituals. Ayahuasca is a
word in Quechua, the language of the Incas, meaning
``vine of the dead'' or ``vine of the souls.''


Picture the roaring campfire. The conjuror displaying a
thick, internally-glowing, thickly-leafed vine to the
wide-eyed ceremonial participants... who, along with the
magi, must drink from the wild juices held within the
plant.


Shamans from Ecuador and Colombia who wear
headdresses of parrot feathers and necklaces of wild boar teeth,
might enter the scene, chanting passionately, and
objecting wildly about the profane use of their most sacred
vine.


The challenge might be to represent the knowledge and
materials of indigenous people to create a highly
adventurous, and mysterious background setting for the magic
to take hold in the spectators' minds.... what
images could arise from such a
setting.


Keep your eyes on the news!! The images
practically write themselves. The gatherings, and rituals of man...
especially those inhabiting exotic, or inhospitable locals.
These are the makings for some of the best magic... it
is conjuring at its finest. 




The images above
were generously pseudo-quoted, and heavily paraphrased
from the recent news items ( for research, and
educational purposes )


Yours in Magic,


Joe Miller ( MindMyst )

Fire Magic

Hello again, magic enthusiasts!! MindMyst has returned for a bit of fun with this

blog. Hope everyone is having a great springtime ... with baseball, fishing, and

all the trees buddin' and bloomin ... a perfect time to be writing up some magical

presentations for your audiences.

That's what I've been doing for the past five years ... working on getting my

tricks in order for storied presentations.

Speaking about storied presentations, two days ago was the full moon for April.

This means that over the weekend, and well into the week, the moon will be big and

bright ... a perfect, Heavenly background for a magic story or two held outside

around the chiminea.

Thanks for stopping by.

MM