Price$20.00
Media TypeDVD, Trick
CategoryClose Up
Date AddedMay 30, 2006
Self Tying Shoelace
Jay Noblezada
Penguin Magic
(Based on 1 review)
"Hey man, your shoe is untied."
So you SMILE, make EYE CONTACT with your spectator, and to the ASTONISHMENT of everyone, your SHOELACES seem to VISUALLY TIE THEMSELVES.
Can be performed fully surrounded.
Stunningly VISUAL.
YOUR laces.
Your Shoes.
ULTRA-FAST 3 SEC RESET!
Reviews
(Top ▲)
My feelings are very mixed on this effect, so I'm going to break it down into pros and cons.
PROS
I'm a big fan of "incidental magic" -- magic that happens in real life at an appropriate time and for an appropriate reason. Many authors from Tommy Wonder to Juan Tamariz have written on the subject. Someone has a real need in the real world, and magic is there to help. Much of my current work is based on this premise.
The Self-Tying Shoelace certainly fits into this category. It's immediate. It serves a real purpose – one that all of us have had to deal with.
Visually, it looks great. It resets quickly and can be done in almost any situation (assuming you're wearing pants of appropriate length and shoes with laces).
CONS
I first saw this performed on the recent David Blaine special. Granted, I was watching the special with "magician's eyes" – focusing on the method as well as the execution. The method was blatantly obvious to me.
Was it obvious only because I was a magician looking for a secret? I can't say. If you like doing this type of magic, I suggest trying it on a few honest, non-magician friends first. See what they think. If the illusion is effective, then I was just being a schmuck.
Actually, there's a more important reason why I won't be doing this anytime soon. Blaine just did it on national TV. I fell into this trap as a teenager when Copperfield did Misled on TV. I did it for six months before I realized that it was just proving that I was a JADM*.
PERFORMANCE NOTE
If you're going to perform this, I would put some serious thought into the motivation. Doing this as a demonstration almost defeats the purpose. Have fun coming up with ways to get into this routine without being obvious.
*JADM – Just Another D*** Magician, an idea from the wonderful magician and storyteller, Hiawatha.
PROS
I'm a big fan of "incidental magic" -- magic that happens in real life at an appropriate time and for an appropriate reason. Many authors from Tommy Wonder to Juan Tamariz have written on the subject. Someone has a real need in the real world, and magic is there to help. Much of my current work is based on this premise.
The Self-Tying Shoelace certainly fits into this category. It's immediate. It serves a real purpose – one that all of us have had to deal with.
Visually, it looks great. It resets quickly and can be done in almost any situation (assuming you're wearing pants of appropriate length and shoes with laces).
CONS
I first saw this performed on the recent David Blaine special. Granted, I was watching the special with "magician's eyes" – focusing on the method as well as the execution. The method was blatantly obvious to me.
Was it obvious only because I was a magician looking for a secret? I can't say. If you like doing this type of magic, I suggest trying it on a few honest, non-magician friends first. See what they think. If the illusion is effective, then I was just being a schmuck.
Actually, there's a more important reason why I won't be doing this anytime soon. Blaine just did it on national TV. I fell into this trap as a teenager when Copperfield did Misled on TV. I did it for six months before I realized that it was just proving that I was a JADM*.
PERFORMANCE NOTE
If you're going to perform this, I would put some serious thought into the motivation. Doing this as a demonstration almost defeats the purpose. Have fun coming up with ways to get into this routine without being obvious.
*JADM – Just Another D*** Magician, an idea from the wonderful magician and storyteller, Hiawatha.