Hey, Rocky!

February 8, 2004 8:01 PM

Penguin Magic is a magicians' supply vendor with a nice bonus: almost all the tricks/props/gimmicks have videos of professional (well, competent, at the very least) magicians performing the tricks/props/gimmicks in question. (This is quite well done.) Everything is categorized--street tricks, close-up tricks, levitation, et cetera--and apprently this magic thing is serious business. The feats are slick, the instructions are largely on DVD, and the community does not expose any secrets . . . but that's what keeps you looking, right?
posted by littlegreenlights (7 comments total)

Nifty, but I think it would be more effective if they didn't have cuts in the videos. Neat link, though--thanks.
posted by dobbs at 9:41 PM on February 8, 2004

I liked it. Thanks much.
posted by Samizdata at 10:35 PM on February 8, 2004

love this. it's great. i think i'm going to buy a few of the instant downloads and give them a shot.
posted by suprfli at 12:31 AM on February 9, 2004

This should keep my girlfriend and I stocked with gifts for her father for quite awhile now.

Of course this also means his routine will get longer.
posted by ODiV at 6:07 AM on February 9, 2004

I love magic. I do. Even when I know how to do a trick, it's always impressive to watch someone really good at it.
posted by dejah420 at 7:57 AM on February 9, 2004

Brilliant! I've always found the guys behind the counter of magic stores lazily doing card or coin tricks sell a lot more than fancy boxes with pretty pictures on them. I also love the fact that they are so confident in their products that they'd risk having people play the videos back over and over again to discover the trick.

I love sleight-of-hand close-up card tricks like this or this. These are some of the best card flourishes I've ever seen.

By the way, if anyone's interested in knowing the secret behind this trick, I'd be happy to risk the ire of the Magician Mob and tell you. It's a real classic.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 11:14 AM on February 9, 2004

Here's another good site for magic tricks with lots of fun videos
posted by jasper411 at 12:05 PM on February 9, 2004