Ellusionist

Today I am going to share with you one of my most prized secrets in magic. No, its not the secret of an illusionist, but rather a secret of one Ellusionist. Some of you may not know this, but the infamous Ellusionist actually keeps two servers on the internet. One, Ellusionist.com, which you most likely allready know, and the other, much more discreetly, is where they appear to keep allot of their media files. On this alternate server is a plethora of some really great digital media and if you know what your looking for, you may just dig up a surprise or two. In the past I have found high-resolution images of many of their original gaff decks as well as hi-res images of the “stained skin tattoos”. I’ve even come across an early look at a promo video or two as well. All of which I will provide you with links to along with my methods of search so that you may start pillaging through the server should you feel so inclined. Now there is really no reason to have a link referral show up in their server logs, so I will be posting everything in plain-text and its up to you to populate your bookmarks with the locations. Ok on to the goods.

The server in question?

• elusionist.com

Yup, thats it. Notice only one “l”. Now just going to this server will only display a “we have moved” page but as Exo artists, you know better than to be fooled by appearances. So how do we find the goods? Thats where Google comes in. If you are a savvy surfer, you will already know that google has a feature under the “advanced search” link that allows you to search within a site or domain. For those that have never done so, simply click on “advanced search” to the right of Google’s search box, and when the next page comes up, you should see a box towards the bottom called “Search within a site or domain”. Go ahead and pop the url mentioned above in there and you are ready to begin your excavation adventures (you can also just do a regular search with “site:elusionist.com” at the begining). One more quick tip, try leaving the search criteria blank, hit the search button, and when the search results come up, click on the “show options” link towards the top of the page just under the search box. On the left you should see some options, and you can now filter these results by date to see whats been posted or updated within a certain period of time. I like to set it to “Past week” and check in once a week. Do this and you will never be out of the loop. You may also wish to do some manual exploring by clinking on links and subtracting the html file at the end of the url and do some parent folder snooping. Enjoy Exo brothers and sisters and be sure to share your findings in the forums.

Here are the links I promised.

• UltraGaff: http://www.elusionist.com/galleries/UltraGaff_Gallery/
• Black Ghost 2nd Edition: http://www.elusionist.com/galleries/BlackGhost2/
• ShadowMasters: http://www.elusionist.com/galleries/shadowmasters/
• Stained Skin Tattoos: http://www.elusionist.com/galleries/stainedgallery/

-Mat

ExoMagic is a ever growing place. We change with the tide so we can bring you guys what you want and need.

So we have officially been making some changes and working the clock to add some new items to the ExoMagic Store.

Check out the DVD section for what we have to offer. If you know of something you want that you don’t see in the store…NO WORRIES. Go to the forums HERE and tell us what you want either in the store of questions about the products. We CAN NOT WAIT for you to see what is coming. Day by day, we are adding more and more products. So tell your friends and family to check out ExoMagic’s Store front for theirs and YOUR Magic needs!

As you know, ExoMagic is getting bigger and bigger everyday. We really want to stay connected with each and everyone of you!

So we wanted to let you know that we now are on MySpace!

Also, we want to remind all of our readers to sign up to get Text Message updates. You can do so on the Blog Home Page.

We send out info from time to time so that you can know about discounts, deals and other fun stuff going on at Exo and in the community.

Big things are coming your way! Stay tuned!

Over the past few months he has been hard at work on a handful of exciting projects. And that many of those projects are nearing completion!

“I’m finally able to give you a peek at a unique book that I’ve been working on for the past year: Sinful – A Graphic Novel. This new book features new ideas, incredible artwork, an introduction by Banachek, and an interview conducted by Paul Harris.”

The artwork in the novel was created by Josh Funk.

The book and a companion DVD will be ready in time for Christmas!

Keep your eyes out for this one guys!

Wanted to draw attention to the ExoMagic Tiny Chat.

Great place to be when you are online at ExoMagic. Get a chance to chat with people who are posting and lurking.

It gives you a chance to get on the Cam and show off your mad Magic Skills and get to know your fellow Magicians.

Tell your friends and get others to join in on the Magic Chat!

Tip: Add the chat link in your signature so people can easily find it and promote the site.

“As a Magician I promise never to reveal the secret of any illusion to a non-Magician, unless that one swears to uphold the Magician’s Oath in turn. I promise never to perform any illusion for any non-Magician without first practicing the effect until I can perform it well enough to maintain the illusion of Magic.”

We here at ExoMagic feel like the oath has served us Magicians well, but we also believe its a bit out of date. So we have rewritten the oath and made it into a “Proclamation” as well as an oath. This oath is one with a bit of art, flare, and addresses a few different areas that the old oath does not.

~

“I, (your full name here), swear in the presence of shadows, witnessed by my brothers of my art, do proclaim the following:

I consider my art dear to me as well as a part of me, just as my Teachers who taught me this art do and the Teachers have before them. I shall live in reverence of my teachers and bear respect for my fellow Magicians. I will follow them, for there is strength in numbers, as well as break away from them, to study my art, create unique art, and further Magic’s study.

I will teach my art only to those who so have taken The Oath and agree to uphold the Oath and its secrets; without fee or written promise, once they have proven their respect and desire. Only then will I impart onto them the disciples, secrets, and skills needed to achieve their goals in Magic.

I will amaze according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone who bears witness to my shows.

To please no one, will I take advantage of my power, do harm, humiliate, disgrace, or demean my Spectators nor my fellow Magicians.

Nor will I give my life of secrets to those unworthy, for entertainment or recognition.

But I will preserve the purity of my Life and my Art.

I will not preach or make cult under my name, based on my illusions and effects.

I will practice my art to its fullest and further. My fingers will be worked to the bones and know the ways of performance, even in sleep. Only then will my art be ready for show to spectators.

In shall never force my art or the performance of my art onto unwilling witness.

The experiences of my art, that further my development, I shall feel obligated to share with my fellow Magicians. But knowledge I gain, that should not be spread abroad for whatever reason, I shall keep in the confines of my own being and not gloat of the secret.

If I keep this oath faithfully, may I enjoy my life and practice my art, respected by all my fellow Magicians, my brothers, for all times; but if I swerve from it or violate it, may the reverse be my lot.

By these words I speak, I uphold. And follow. ”

~

As much as Magic is about amusing your audience and leaving them with a feeling of awe, Magic is also about you enjoying what you’re doing. If a trick you’re about to perform has been revealed to your audience, you’ll find that the fun of the situation has all but disappeared. Recognizing the effects that revealing a trick can have on your performance and the performance of others should be enough to dissuade you from doing so. But if it isn’t, keep in mind that many individuals perform Magic tricks for a living. This is why a Magician must never reveal to a lay person or spectator the inner workings of their Magic.

Magician’s tend to distance themselves from other Magician’s who have broken the Magician’s Oath. And for good reason. But you must remember that fellow Magician’s are the best source and only source to learn new tricks and help refine your skills, breaking the oath to spectators can be career or hobby suicide. Magician’s who have entered the lime light to reveal secrets have been publicly outed in the past and now find themselves no longer active in the world of Magic.

Reading about the Magician’s Oath on our website that provides help and instruction as well as sell supplies for Magic may seem odd to some “nay sayers,” but the truth of it is that we’re upholding the oath in our own part as well.

It has always been considered acceptable to provide a means to learn magic to those that have the desire to learn Magic. It has become harder and harder to come by a Magician who will invest the time to teach someone the trade, for pay or free, so turning to the internet, books, and DVDs has become the only available option for many.

One of the greatest things about Magic is that the possibilities are endless. Old tricks can always be changed around so that the revealed secret is no longer relevant and a new trick is born.

So from ExoMagic to you fellow Magician. Go out there and perform the amazing, and uphold the Oath of the Magician. Make us proud.

Leonard Monatono AKA Val Valentino AKA The Masked Magician

That’s right…The Masked Magician is now head over seas…

“The Nash Entertainment series ‘Breaking the Magician’s Code: Magic’s Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed’ has been sold by Alfred Haber Distribution, Inc. into new territories such as the U.K., the Middle East and Norway.”

So now our overseas Magicians will now have to deal with The Masked man over there.

Great. (Not)

You can see the whole article here.

The Masked Magician’s real name? He was Born Leonard Monatono, but he had a legal change to Val Valention, who goes by, THE MASKED MAGICIAN.

He was born in 1956 and has two kids as far was we know. Now if only he would focus on his stage show and not revealing Magic, we would all be happier people.

Check the article out here.

How do we know??

Someone attended the filming and realized that part of the 3rd explanation is GONE.

Derren climbed on stage and, “It’s at this moment that (live in the studio) Derren introduced a short film by saying that what we were about to see was shot in November of 2008 on Oxford St. On the stage’s framed background screen they played a sequence of him on the top deck of an open top bus at night with last years Oxford St. Christmas lights going over his head. He walks down the centre aisle of the bus and has six kids (around 4-5 years old) sitting either side of him in banks of 2. He raises each pair of hands to show the balls they are holding, and points the numbers towards the camera. All 6 numbers that came up on Wednesday’s draw.

He told us we were seeing an edited version and the full sequence would be shown when it was aired the next day. In addition, here’s an entry from his blog dated the 27th of November 2008. It supports the fact that he was there.”

PLEASE read the full blog entry here.

The more you read, the more you check into this, the more you find out….more genius you find this trick to be. Remember Derren saying this is a year of his life? Remember the Bus in the ad, saying you will win the lottery? So now what? Is there more to this trick? More to reveal? Whats going on?

Derren, you really love to mess with our minds…don’t you?