April 08, 2005

Sleight of hand: Extreme Card Manipulation. "Warning: Don't buy this DVD. Almost no one can actually do the stuff you're about to see...Minimum recommended daily practice time: 4 hours.... Throughout your training you'll destroy five or more decks per day." Watch the 2-minute trailer and blow yer mind. (Me, I can do a riffle shuffle and sometimes not spray the cards into your face by accident).
posted by StoryBored 19 years ago
  • Pretty cool. Too bad its called "Generation Extreme."
  • Brian Tudor, yeah... I have 2 of his videos (show off and show off 2). He's pretty damn good. Do check out www.superhandz.com (scroll down for the card stuff) though, they're quite awesome too. The Buck brothers at www.dananddave.com are also very nifty. And of course, The Flourishman at www.flourishman.com where you can also buy the Encyclopedia of Playing Card Flourishes, an essential if you want to get into this type of card manipulation. Does it show that I've been into this stuff in the past? I'm more on the magic side of things though. My hands aren't appropriate for a number of "extreme manipulations", and the whole aura of "extreme" that permeates that community really gets old fast. I mean, just whip out your dicks on the table and compare, already... Heh
  • Uh . . wow.
  • ditto.
  • Hey Splice, thanks for those links, i'll have to check them out!
  • cool links, StoryBored and splice, I love that stuff. Thanks !
  • That is so X-treme I think he uses cardz. Now 4 hours a day of practice..I only hope I can get that 5 year prison stint so I can have time to learn those trips. Oh, those tricks and the disappearing balloon of heroin trick.
  • Wow. Brian is my cousin. I'm happy to see people are buying his DVDs.
  • okay... it's on the table. let's compare! oh, never mind
  • Yeah, wow, gee whiz, uh.... so what? Not to denigrate the skill involved here but this falls into the juggling category and out of the magic category. If these guys (and the legions of kids who emulate them) spent half the time working on good magic and presentational skills, it would be so much more impressive. Derren Brown Is a guy who has these kind of chops but uses them to undermine your sense of faith in the rational universe. If you've ever seen his "Devil's Picturebook" you know what I mean.
  • Wow. It always surprises me when attractive people have OCD hobbies/occupations. Shouldn't he be off screwing other attractive people?
  • kamus, I completely agree. Most of the "extreme" manipulators I've come in contact with don't consider it magic. Of course, as represented on the superhandz page, they don't want to call it juggling either. It's all about the extreemz trickkez they do, and the adulation of fans and wannabes. Really impressive stuff, but again, it's just shuffling cards around, right? Now, extreme cup stacking... That's where it's at!
  • Monkeyfilter: Yeah, wow, gee whiz, uh.... so what?
  • I'd have to agree with kamus and splice. It's somewhat flashy, but it doesn't really captivate me at all. His hand skill is impressive, but it's a bit too obvious. I prefer the less showy tricks, where the cards seem to almost be moving around of their own volition. Less focus on the practitioner, more a sense of the magical.
  • I thought it was pretty cool. But then again, I *like* jugglers too.
  • " Shouldn't he be off screwing other attractive people? " Oh he's doing PLENTY of that, believe me.
  • Darren Brown, Master Mentalist. He might be good, but not enough to convince me his website doesn't suck.
  • f8xmulder - I agree. Unfortunately there aren't any really good links for the guy. He is known in the UK mainly as a TV "mentalist" but he is an awesome (and I really mean that word) sleight of hand artist, particularly with cards. The Devil's Picturebook that I referenced is a tape he made for magicians that showcased and explained his card tricks and it is unbelievably good. Over the years I've seen a lot of really excellent magicians but this guy takes the cake. Ironically, he has sworn off 'straight" magic in favor of the Mentalism thing, a genre in which he is also quite amazing.
  • kamus: Werd. I was mostly just trying to be snarky about his site.
  • Can he do it on a fucking unicycle?
  • Cut him some slack, bernockle. Let him try it on a regular unicycle first.
  • it's a bit too obvious. Um. I think I missed something...
  • Cool link, thanks StoryBored. By far the best sleight of hand artist I've ever seen is Jerry Sadowitz, also known as "The Most Offensive Man In Britain" for his, um, shall we say, less-than-politically-correct stand up, but he is an absolute genius with cards. If you're interested in the theory and philosophy behind performing magic rather than just the effects themselves, Derren Brown's book 'Absolute Magic' is a great read.
  • Wait, you guys don't like juggling? Oh come on. I mean, five balls? torches? 7 balls?
  • Thanks to all monkeys who posted further scrumptious links. That Derren Brown guy sounds very interesting. I like all kinds of magic and manipulation, whether it's flourishes or illusion or mentalism. I think my main criteria is originality and imagination. But i realize what's new to me may be old hat to others. Which leads to: Doing it on a unicycle would be kind of boring!? Haven't we all seen enough unicycle stuff? Doing stuff behind your back, also boring. Eating fire: Snore. Now if he juggled unicycles, that might be a start. Moth: thanks for the pointer to Sadowitz, i'll check it out!
  • I thought he fucked the unicycle.
  • Fucking the unicycle would not strictly be considered sleight of hand. However, there could be a niche fetish market.
  • I think its pretty cool, but I was more interested in the music in the clip. Does anyone know who that is? It sounds like Krafty Kuts, but I'm not sure...