Rugg Tomcat, an inroduction

[ruggtomcat]

Hey folks,

Im ruggtomcat, tom for short. Im currently based in Edinburgh Scotland where i am a professional entertainer. Ive been doing magic for coming up to 2 years and performing for 1 of them.

I have a background in juggling and am a fan of the finger buster, tho after 2 years I am only a beginner. My current finger obsessions are the radical change, instant replay, OHTP and OHTC. My favorite tricks are transpo's, everywhere and nowhere, card under glass and reset. I tend not to use gimmicks of any kind, preferring to rely on slight of hand and misdirection only, tho obviously this is just a general rule

I have participated lots in online forums before, but not with so much hidden. My question to the board is, is it worth me sticking around to look at the academy? Im a fairly accomplished magician with my own versions of the classic plots and a few tricks of my own. Is this a place just for newbies? should I just cough up for TSD?

sorry if this seems rude, I just dont know what kinda place this is, partly cos its all hidden

anyway, looking forward to some magic banter.

RuggTomCat

p.s. I is on twitter @ruggtomcat predictably.

[lovage666]

hey buddy welcome and have fun getting to learn the ways around here. Im a complete magic noob but I sure am trying like hell to get better. There is alot of cool stuff thats whispered to exist in the Academy. Im trying to get in there myself but im not old enough yet . anyway welcome and happy trolling.

[ruggtomcat]

lol the noob posting-up the noob, like it

its all about the practice... what are you working on?

T

[lovage666]

im trying to get basic flourishes and such down. false cuts and forces. I can do some but not much.. my fans can barely blow out a match and forget spreads.. i can do the pirrouette though looks nice.. I got a few lame noob tricks that work out well and I like doing Fraude. Passing Thru is pretty cool. I guess I just been broken in with the stuff from ***********.com .. any suggestions? wow that got bleeped out?? i been doing stuff from a online magic place lol

[Misjief]

Tom-

In order to access most of the material - It simply takes a week and a couple of silly posts. The idea is that you actually kick back and make yourself at home rather then take all of our material and leave never to be heard from again.

The only really highly censored area in my experience is the lab - in which people are revealing their own work and secrets. Because of it's intimate nature it does get a little hairy in there. Other wise you get everything fairly quickly. Unfortunately (in my opinion), much of that is card work. I am in the minority there. LOL

The big thing that makes EXO unique in my mind is the fun fraternity, kind of like the old IRC channels and the integrity of magic principles. If you want to download a bunch of magic DVDs, this is definitely not the place to do it. Those are REALLY REALLY REALLY hidden well as it is Guaranteed you will NEVER find them! LOL

I often get frustrated in my eagerness to learn because 'they' often won't tell you the secret behind a trick outright. Not going to happen here. Damn those inconvenient ethics! But in the long run, you will get more true support here. Support being real growth in your abilities.

I am NOT a Magi per say so I can't really say about the level of magic you will find here. I would point out that there are more then a few well KNOWN magi who haunt its halls.

I myself have learned a lot - and I bounced from and to several forums before settling here. That said I'd encourage you to stay.

-misj-

[ruggtomcat]

wow, thanks misj.

Im not surprised cards are more popular, they are loads of fun, and you get something to hide behind. I will stick around for a bit, see whats what, havent done a regular BB for ages.

Lovage, its totally up to you, but id work on slights before flourishes, being able to do a perfect pressure fan is no where near as impressive or satisfying as fooling someone so bad they cant talk for several minutes I started learning flourishes only when id run out of slights and was getting board, i still dont do many.

t

[Alex Hess]

Glad to have you aboard Tom,

Misjief summed up the Academy pretty well. It is a place where knowledge of the art is shared freely. Some stuff is for beginners, some is for experts, and some is for working magicians.

The true learning is from the combination of our bulletin board, video chat, and our store. When you mix them together you have a deadly learning combination. So I encourage you to stick around for a bit and see how you like the place

By the way, what is your favorite pie?
Cheers,

[haroldross]

Welcome aboard, Tom!

There are are wide variety of talent here in this community. The very inexperienced to the seasoned veteran. For the most part all are interested in improving the art of magic.

I myself am a semi-professional magician. I say that because it is about 25% of my regular job.

This is a great place to encourage and share your insights with people who will soak it all up like sponges.

Give this place a chance and you'll be glad you did!

[ruggtomcat]

hey guys,

cool bannanas, thought i might big up BabycatXD if you guys havent heard of her (tho im sure im waaay behiond on that one)

on that point, is the lounge the kinda place where i can start a 'favorite/worst tricks a layman has shown me' thread?

*twiddles thumbs*

*gives up twiddling thumbs and watches

YouTube - Paul Daniels-Dante's Black and White...

*

[Misjief]

LOL

I think I really pissed off BabyCatXD... She reminds me of (Boris and) NATASHA from Bullwinkle! Not everyone likes my brand of humor. Go figure!

Oh Yeah. The lounge is the 'junk drawer' and catch all for the odds and ends that don't fit anywhere else. But you can put stuff anywhere and the admins will move it to where it goes. They like it as it makes them feel useful! Just ask them!

-misj-

[Alex Hess]

*Hits Misjief with the news paper*

Don't put stuff wherever, if you are questioning where to place a thread contact one of the staff (Orange/Green people) via private message and we'll usually get back to you within a few hours.

But yes, the lounge is like our 'junk drawer'

[ruggtomcat]

ok, off to start a junk thread
//merged//
oh and as for pie, its gonna be chicken, but it doesnt really hold a candle to lasagne for baked goods