STS on Stage

This weekend I went home to San Diego for a wedding. No, not mine. Not yet. No way...

Any who, my gig was an hour and a half of strolling magic during the cocktail hour before the reception (which is strange that the cocktail hour was more than an hour. Why would they do that to me? Those Catholic weddings are almost 2 hours and I'm starving by then!). Whenever you book an hour of strolling magic, prepare for 2. Trust me, they always ask you to stay longer!

So I do my thing and serve up a buffet of tasty magic treats for all of the wedding guests. Of course I did the Self Tying Shoelace! It's a must. Plus, some new close-up hypnosis I've been playing with. The night is great and I'm passing out business cards left and right. I was on top of the world.

Here's where it gets crazy. I take a look at the reception schedule and it says in the program, right after dinner: "Entertainment: Close Up Magic of Jay Noblezada." What? Wait a minute! I thought I booked a Walk-Around gig before the dinner. There are 300 people in that reception hall! Stage Magic? I'm not ready for this!

Well, when you're a pro you don't flinch. You shake! You get excited! You HAVE something to do for 300 spectators on stage. You've had something to show them for years. You've been practicing in your room in front of the mirror every night and have dreamed of this opportunity. You ARE ready. You were Born to Perform.

During dinner I tell the DJ to lay down some techno during my 15 minutes of stage time. He gives me the nod, and I sit back down, waiting for my turn. After dinner I hear the DJ announce me as the special entertainment and it's on! I did exactly what the program said I was going to do: Close-Up Magic. I performed for the bride and groom on stage, but had all 300 people watching closely. I had them hooked in and focused. Remember, all of them had seen or heard of me during the cocktail hour (and a half), so they knew they had to watch now!

Sounds strange, but I did 3 close up tricks. Slydini's Paper Balls Over the Head, Anniversary Waltz, and Self Tying Shoelace. Paper Balls Over the Head does play as a stage piece, but to the bride, it was pretty damn close-up! Everyone was rolling on the floors, laughing and having a great time! Then came the special piece of magic for the newly weds. If you do weddings, Anniversary Waltz is the trick to do for the Bride and Groom. I didn't have the necessary cards, but I used a signature transfer method that worked just as good... in fact great!

The show was over. That was 15 minutes right there. But I had to do it! The STS! My shoelace was untied the whole time, so I knew it was bugging people. I had the bride and groom stand up on either side of me and performed the Self Tying Shoelace for 300 people. It was huge! How huge? Standing Ovation huge! I didn't think it could be done, but I took a risk and it payed off. STS plays on stage.

Message: Learn and Know magic that plays big! It could be a simple card trick, or impromptu paper napkin trick, but play it big. It should be magic that takes no effort on your part, but focuses on the audience, and your special volunteers on stage. Chances are, you already know many of these tricks, but never perform them. Just keep them close to you so when your time comes, you're ready! It will look like you can do anything!

If you don't know these tricks, or haven't heard of them, here you go:

Paper Balls Over the Head: http://www.penguinmagic.com/product.php?ID=466

Anniversary Waltz: http://www.penguinmagic.com/product.php?ID=725

Self Tying Shoelace: http://www.penguinmagic.com/product.php?ID=1365

Well, that was my weekend. I wish you were there!

Best,

Jay Noblezada

Back in Vegas after a great trip!

Sam gave me a wakeup call this morning at 5:10 am London time. I was pretty out of it after just two hours of sleep, and it took me awhile to realize that a) the phone was ringing and b) I had to do something about it.

But once I was up I had a fun journey. I took the train from the Penguin UK warehouse to Paddington Station, The Underground to Victoria Station, and the Gatwick Express to London Gatwick. I was listening to a Ray Kurzweil interview on my iPod during the train rides, but my batteries ran out just as I got to the airport.

At first I was bummed because I had downloaded a bunch of new books to listen to on the plane. But I found a great bookstore at the last minute that more than made up for it.

I bought four books:

1. It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be: The world's best-selling book by Paul Arden - Paul Arden is the former executive creative director of UK based ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi. This is an EXTREMELY fast read, and it's a great read (especially if you love great quotes like I do, Cow Said Moo). It's such a fast read that I managed to sleep most of the way and still read it cover to cover. My favorite part is the opening...

"Nearly all rich and powerful people are not notably talented, educated, charming, or good-looking. They become rich and powerful by wanting to be rich and powerful. Your vision of where or who you want to be is the greatest asset you have." -- Paul Arden

2. Whatever You Think Think The Opposite by Paul Arden - The inside cover screamed out at me: "This book explains the benefits of making bad decisions. It shows how risk is your security in life. And why unreason is better than reason. It's about having the confidence to roll the dice." I'm fantastic at making bad decisions, and I'm looking forward to this little book.

3. Bono on Bono: Conversations with Michka Assayas - I'm a HUGE Bono fan, so I had to get this one. I only got about 50 pages into it on the plane, but it's already great. My favorite part is when Michka asks Bono what his dad expected he would end up doing for a living:

"Hmm... I think... either join the civil service, like he did, which was a safe job, which you couldn't be fired from... or a traveling salesman. A lot of our family were traveling salesmen. And of course that is what I have become!"

Michka says: "In a way possibly."

Bono continues:

"Oh no, in more than just a way. I am sure of it. I am very much a traveling salesman. And that, if you really want to know, is how I see myself. I sell songs from door to door, from town to town. I sell melodies and words. And for me, in my political work, I sell ideas. In the commercial world that I'm entering into, I'm also selling ideas."

4. "NLP At Work: The Difference that Makes a Difference in Business" by Sue Knight. I haven't even opened this one yet, but I'm sure there's something in here that will resonate with me. I read a few books about NLP back in college, and they fascinated me. That reminds me, a few years back NJ magician Brett Amazing did a hilarious demonstration of NLP on me in a little restaurant in Colon, MI during the Colon Magic Festival.

My flight was VS043, direct from London to Las Vegas. This is the flight Acar and I always take back and forth. Virgin is a great airline, and I highly recommend this flight in particular. It's laid back and a lot of fun. Virgin has the best food and flight attendants (after I saw the flight attendants get picked up at the Vegas airport by a black party-bus with tinted windows I'm tempted to apply for a job at Virgin). Other hi-lights from my journey included the veggie ravioli and Acar pulling up in his truck to pick me up from the Airport in Vegas. As many of you already know, Acar is also a musician, and that dude looks more like a rock star every day. Right now he's growing out his hair and soul patch.

New Podcast!

I just got word from DEV that the newest edition of The Performer's Podcast with Tyas Frantz is LIVE on the Penguin media servers.

This week Tyas interviews SPECIAL GUEST Jay Noblezada, inventor of the Self-Tying Shoelace (STS) as performed by David Blaine on National Television just a few days ago.

You can download the podcast here: http://www.penguinmagic.com/podcasts.php

You can check out Noblezada's STS here: http://www.penguinmagic.com/product.php?ID=1365

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Message from Noblezada

Jay Noblezada writes:

Dear Penguin Customer,

About a month ago I received a phone call that I will never forget:

"Hi, This is Jay..."

"Jay! I love your trick! It's beautiful!"

"Who is this?"

"This is David Blaine."

"... "

Jump to today:

In two short days ABC will be airing "Drowned Alive" starring David Blaine. David is currently (as you read this!) living in a sphere of water. He's on life support with no food... only water! David has already been in the tank for five days. On the 7th day the oxygen will be cut off and David will attempt to surpass the world record and hold his breath for over nine minutes. The cameras will be rolling!

During the show, footage of David performing magic will be shown. He will be showcasing some brand new magic that I am very proud of... my brand new Self Tying Shoelace!

David Blaine hand picks the magic he performs and works with a team of some of the most creative minds in the world. So you can imagine my smile when he called me that day! The special is built around a live event, so nothing is guaranteed, but David Blaine is expected to perform my Self Tying Shoelace at least once in the special.

ABC has posted some video so you can see a sneak peek of David Blaine performing Self Tying Shoelace here: http://www.tv.com/david-blaine-drowned-alive/show/58647/videos.html

I invite you to celebrate this event with me by gathering up your family and friends, and watching this show on May 8th, this Monday, on ABC. Be with your loved ones and spend this magical time together.

It's a 2 hour special, so get ready for one intense evening! Monday Night at 8:00pm on ABC. And after the special check out http://www.penguinmagic.com/noblezada.php for a video of me performing the effect!

Best,

Jay Noblezada
Penguin Magic: born to perform.
http://www.penguinmagic.com

PS: Be sure to check out tv.com to see David Blaine perform Noblezada's Self Tying Shoelace: http://www.tv.com/david-blaine-drowned-alive/show/58647/videos.html

I'm mad at books.

I was walking back from the gym this morning after a Saturday morning workout. My iPod was in my pocket and a little white cord was snaking its way up my body and into my ears. I was plugged into the audiobook I'm listening to right now, Re-imagine: Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age by Tom Peters. I had been listening to it since the moment I woke up... while I brushed my teeth, walked to the gym, lifted weights, changed, and ate breakfast (an incredible veggie omelet at the gym cafe). I turned it off only long enough to swim a few hundred yards in the pool and loosen up.

And now, as I was walking (from the gym to work) with it blasting in my ears (I like to crank up good books just like good music), I started to get mad.

I got mad because I was enjoying the book so much.

Well that's not exactly it. I got mad because I was getting so excited and fired-up and turned-on by what I was reading... like a city exploding into night... lightbulb-by-lightbulb... TURNED ON UPSTAIRS... ready for action.

Well that's not exactly it either. I got mad because Re-imagine is a book I've owned in hardcover for at least six months. And I HAD skimmed it and read the first 50 pages or so, but I hadn't started REALLY READING IT until last week when bought it again (paid full price again) and started listening to the audiobook of Re-imagine on my iPod.

That's why I was mad. Because I'd been so foolish and waited so long to buy the audiobook and fully expose myself to this PURE GOLD that was blasting away in my ears.

I don't read books. I don't have time. I buy books, and I'm in the middle of half a dozen books, but I don't DEVOUR them the way I chew up and spit out audiobooks.

Audiobooks go straight to my brain... like opening up my head and pouring the knowledge in.

I've NEVER not finished an audiobook. I'll say that again... In all of the hundreds or maybe a thousand audiobooks I've purchased, rented and borrowed since I started listening to them in a carpool with a kid named Keith Schmidt and his dad as we headed to northern Michigan to play in a hockey tournament... I've NEVER not finished an audiobook.

In that same period I've purchased hundreds of printed books that I haven't fully read or finished (many that just sit on my bookshelf collecting dust).

What's my point?

We live in a world in which we don't have time to read as many books as we MUST READ if we're going to keep up with the rapid pace of change we're waking up to every morning. Our world REQUIRES CONSTANT LEARNING. And we don't have time for it.

But our technology has given us a way to DEVOUR books when we're doing OTHER things (driving, waiting in line, washing the dishes, trying to get through dinner with a boring date, etc.).

I've heard a lot of magicians say that DVDs are bad for magic... that they favor the "old" way of learning magic... "from books". It's time we take aim at that mindset... at least make sure it's not holding US back from learning what WE need to learn (in magic and in life) to get the results WE want.

The truth is magic books don't sell (and I don't know of anybody on the planet in a better position to make that statement than me)! We sell easily DVDs over books 10-1... without even trying. DVDs fly off the shelves, and books keep the shelves from flying away. People who want to learn magic have figured out that there's a quicker way. They don't have to spend countless hours pouring over diagrams to try to figure out what their hands are supposed to be doing. A picture is worth a thousand words and a video is worth a thousand words x 30 frames per second.

I'm not here to argue that DVDs are BETTER than books. Obviously books are cool for millions of reasons and DVDs have weaknesses... especially if they stifle creativity by giving magicians an easy (lazy) out when they should really be (struggling) thinking about how THEY and THEIR CHARACTER might present a concept or routine. No argument here. Lazy magicians are the worst kind. But, lazy people don't matter. Lazy people aren't gonna take your job. They're not gonna take your spectators. They're not a good reason to lock all knowledge up inside a couple of dusty covers.

If people who write magic books want people to read magic books, they need to make doing so a realistic option for busy people in today's busy world. Make me an audiobook and let me listen while I wait at red lights. Let me listen while I sweep the warehouse. Let me listen while I sort one-way force decks. Let me listen while I wait in line at the post office. If I need to see diagrams to understand what you're talking about, give me a website and I'll go download the diagrams.

My point simply stated is this:

The world is changing. We haven't found a way to buy more time... not yet. So we have more that is possible and more to do, and the same amount of time to do it in. Audiobooks and training DVDs are currently the best way to get information out of someone else's brain and into yours. Someday soon we'll figure out a better way to transfer information between brains, but until then it's audiobooks, web training tools, and training DVDs for me.

Penguin Magic has never published a book. But, if we do I promise we'll make it available in audio format as well... For everyone who's sick of waiting to learn until they have time to read.

And if you're someone who's written a magic book that you want put out as an audiobook, give Penguin a call. We're friends with the guys who run the studio where Celine Dion records when she's in Vegas. We'll put you in front of the same mike Celine sings into and you can sing your book to the world.

Conversation with Oz!

I had a GREAT conversation with Oz the other night. Just talking with the guy got me completely fired up. He's training for the San Francisco Marathon on July 30th and the IRONMAN Wisconsin on September 10th, 2006. In the IRONMAN he'll swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run 26.2 miles! Talk about born to perform!

Oz gave me a book recommendation that I want to pass along. It's a book called "Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner". Oz has read the book multiple times, and he says it gets him more fired up each time. I've already placed my order: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1585422789/sr=8-3/qid=1150066474/ref=pd_bbs_3/102-7860789-1740963?%5Fencoding=UTF8

It's a great deal too! Smart shoppers only!

David Blaine and Oz!

Oz walked over to Lincoln Center yesterday afternoon to see David Blaine in sphere.

Here's the pic:

Take Your Child to Work Day at Penguin!

Bobbi just emailed me this picture from "Take Your Child to Work Day" at Penguin.



That's Cindy in the top left and Kim in the top right (they're the ladies who make sure your order is perfect before it leaves our warehouse). The kids belong to Cindy, Kim, and Bobbi (I'm not sure, but I'd guess Bobbi is the one taking the picture).

That's the Penguin USA Warehouse in the background (with minor graphical modification by Paul over here in the UK).

P.S. I've been advised by Paul and Tim in the UK that one of the hand gestures pictured is a tad bit culturally insensitive. I assure you the gesture was not delivered in that spirit.