Ronjo Magic Store

Hello friends,

The Cannabis Effect is a hot, new card trick, and I think you are really going to like the effect as well as the reaction. I have nothing bad to say about the effect itself. It’s terrific! But I do have some bad things to say about the conceptual elements and marketing of the effect.

The Name of the trick and the drug themes on the DVD are awful. (bongs, marijuana posters, smoking) I have a feeling this DVD was shot in Amsterdam where their outlook is far different than ours here at home. If they didn’t theme it this way, this could have been an effect available for our youth.

I believe Daniel Young & Lee Hathaway thought they came up with a clever acronym and followed through with content on the video. But there are more innocent ways to describe your perception of something. This is after all a magic trick not a film or television show where drugs might be a part of the plot. None of the actual effect has anything to do with all this. So why have it there? Except for maybe the box. It reminds me of a place where someone would stash their contraband. I watched most of the DVD expecting to learn more of this box but I didn’t see anything on that would suggest drug use during the presentations. The box is where the cards are kept and on the DVD there is a message written on the box, that leads into how people perceive things (part o the patter) which in turn leads into the effect itself.

As I look the other way for the good news, there is plenty of it.

The DVD is well produced. It has different menus with nice graphics and sound effects. Included are presentations, explanations, live performances, quick reset method & more, including bad acting.

The printed directions are clear & precise, so if you have a problem with the PAL formatted DVD (we didn’t & most systems can be set up for a PAL DVD), you are not lost. In fact, there is more on the instructions than explained on the DVD. Lots of Bonus Ideas (twists on the effects & hand-lings & set ups) from many magicians.

The tin box is nice but from what I can tell after watching most of the DVD, hardly necessary.

The cards themselves are one of those, why didn’t I think of this myself things. The actual method is based on other effects but this is so original, it hardly resembles them. We think you will be happily surprised by the mechanics.
I had a small problem trying to get through part of the handling and I came up with an alternate that is actually described in the bonus idea by Hayashi.

The effect is not hard to execute & the DVD will show you every nuance & subtlety. Important things that you wouldn’t think of without watching it. These tips create a real powerful build & impact. And some of these tips that may assist you in other endeavors.

The effect as they perceive it is absolutely mind-blowing. There are lots of psychological factors that make you feel like a super hero & the secret is hidden in plain sight but nothing is ever suspect. The workings are not very complex so you can focus on performance. You are going to love it!

Except for maybe the whole Cannabis thing. I think the whole concept is in very poor taste but there are worse things in life.

Thanks for reading.

Pete

Hello friends,

So you’ve seen Criss Angel on TV and he has inspired to stop playing with your X-Box 360 for a while. That’s great. Magic really is a fun hobby. And if you are looking to get started, you’ve come to the right place!

Ronjo has been a professional magician since 1972 and in 1974 he opened the first store with just 10 magic tricks for children. Since then we’ve grown in leaps and bounds stocking the latest and greatest as well as the classics in magic. 10,000 + items. Just about everything the beginner or the professional could ever want.

But we are selective about what we have to offer you. Just because it exists, doesn’t mean its good or original. (Original is a whole other blog).

So with 10,000 items, where do you begin? Just like school, magic has different subjects and levels. Well my advise is to start with a category that interests you but don’t jump right into the advanced stuff right away.

If you start with knuckle busting card manipulations, you will have to put in many hours of hard work to accomplish anything worthy of showing someone. This is a nice goal to reach but staring out this way may discourage you and possibly make you give up on a hobby that could give you a lifetime of enjoyment.

Well how can you tell if something will be too hard for you? If you are local to our store, please do come in for a visit, we’ll be happy to show you things that are right up your ally and steer you away from things that we know you are not ready for.

If you do not have the luxury of coming by, please do send an email with your questions. I’ll get back to you the same or next business day. Pete@ronjo.com. Or call us 631-928-5353.

Our website, www.ronjo.com is broken down into many categories. You would think the beginner section is where you should look. But in actuality, the beginner section is being set up for the small plastic children’s tricks. And if you are over 13 years old, that section will discourage you too because you may think magic is babyish. Even though, some of these tricks really are very good for any age.

Close-up, Money & Cards are a good place for most of you to start. Many of the effects in these sections are small enough to keep the props in your pocket. You can bring them with you to work or school and are most are not too hard to learn how to do.

Once you learn a few, you will notice that you like a specific type of effect more than others. Its just like everything else in life. Now that you know what you like, learn more about it. Don’t rush into buying another trick. Work on the things you favored. You will soon discover that you will get better at them. Mastering the workings, the angles and your performance. Once you have mastered these, they will seem NEW to you again. Half the fun of learning magic, is just that, learning it.The other half is the smile you put on your spectators faces.

Once you hit the point where you are putting a smile on their faces, there is no turning back. You are not in this to be fooled yourself. You are in this knowing you have the power to make people freak out.

Here are just a few suggestions of items I know someone just getting started is capable of doing with only minor practice that get nice reactions from the audience.

Jay Lesile’s Coin Thru Coin , Ronjo’s Gold Rush , Nickels To Dimes, Phil Goldstein’s B’Wave, Pavel’s Circulaiton, Mike Powers’ Diminishing Returns, Ronjo’s Clear Thru Cork, Spirit Feather.

Well that’s more that enough to get your feet wet.

Please have a look at my older Blogs too. There is lots of advise, reviews, opinions & more.

Thanks for reading.
Pete