Michael, I have to say that I don’t really like this version of a Torn and Restored. I especially don’t like having to post about two T&Rs in a row. All a spectator is going to think is “he never tore the card”, and he will not be able to rewind his brain to a point where he saw two pieces of card (which is what actually fries the brain). But I’m not going to give this effect a rating. I’m going to give the video a rating however. I’m impressed at the nerve you show by posting the video even with your mom yelling in the background, and you yelling back. Nice!

Rating: Two Big Balls

Ratings are completely arbitrary depending upon the amount of leftover stuffing in my fridge, and whether or not it’s still good. And whether or not I ate it anyways.

The 24 page booklet contains detailed instructions on how to perform the effect, a plethora of pics, the history of the effect, and a section called “the work behind it all” which really gets into the down and dirty details of why the effect works so well, and how to make it better. All in all it’s a worthy project that I believe adds value to the magic community as a whole.

The effect is on sale for $20 at Decks, Lies, and Videotape, and it comes with three bonus items that I will discuss in future posts. They are all valuable items. I believe that in this case, twenty dollars buys you thousands worth in knowledge.

Wow. That is beautiful. Crazy Good. It looks so much like magic! Well executed, James. There was a point where it looked like the cards split, but I couldn’t tell if that was video quality, or a split double.

Rating: Three Light Bulbs, and only because it wasn’t really a “performance”. Good Job

(Ratings are arbitrary, based on how much I weighed this morning)

That was. The. Worst palm I. Have. Ever seen. You want a name for the trick? I can think of a few.

Let’s talk. Why is your palm so bad? You had absolutely no reason for your hand to be near that king. Your hand moving on top of the deck after you placed the king on top was an absolutely unnecessary motion. And when you make an unnecessary motion during a magic trick, lay people are going to notice. They may not know what you did, but they know that something sneaky just took place. And in your case, even a distracted observer is going to say “you palmed the card.”

It all comes down to motivation. You MUST HAVE A REASON for every single movement your hands make, and every single word you say. And here, you don’t. This advice is so good, I should be selling it. I hope you realize that. You are scared. Scared that you are going to flash. The tension is so thick in your dirty hand that it hurts my brain. Your fear of flashing rears its head again when you are “waving” your hand over the deck. Your movement doesn’t look natural. Watch your video, pretend that you don’t have a card in that hand, and watch your wave. You look like a pterodactyl trying to use white-out.

Your double lift also looks tense and scared. Relax, man. Nobody is going to die if they see you’re holding out somehow.

From a presentational standpoint, it doesn’t make sense either.

1. So why does heat make the card melt up through rubber? Either it’s magic OR you have a logical scientific explanation. It can’t be both.

2. “Now the card is all bent” – No explanation as to why it’s bent. (Except that everyone knows it’s bent because just seconds ago you were palming it)

3. You unbend it by changing to another card that wasn’t bent in the first place.What?

For the presentation, you need to have a cohesive story line that leads to a conclusion. Nothing about your presentation makes sense.

Rating: One Milk, and a book that you should read. Seriously.

(Ratings are nearly always arbitrary, unless I’ve just seen an inspirational movie. Like Cool Runnings.)

As much as I DO NOT want to put sleights on here, Oh My GOD! This pass is amazing. I thought it was a joke at first. Then he did it face up. Wow!

Rating: A Cheeseburger Cheeseburger!

I know you kindly asked me not to judge your top change because it’s not in a performance. But, I can’t help myself, because that’s what I do. I judge.

Your top change looks crazy good. I like it. It might be flashier than I would do for a top change. I think of the move as the same kind of thing as a pass. It should be invisible, done under misdirection. However, some people use the pass as a color change effect as well. I suppose I really would need to see it in a performance to know if I liked it or not. All I can say right now is that I’m impressed. Even though I know what’s happening, it still looks like magic. That’s my judgment.

Rating: I’m not going to rate it, because there was no performance…but it would have been a good rating. Like, three light bulbs and a hamburger.