Don't let people get you down man. Keep up trying to learn. Some people just take the whole code thing to much to heart. I recommend that you find a local magic club like an SAM (Society of American Magicians) or IBM (International Brotherhood of Magicians) ring and join. They will teach you everything that you could possibly want to know until your brain pops with knowledge. Also ask your local magic shop where else you can join or hang out. Good luck to you. If you have questions, email me at mark@markschonfeld.com

Magicians should help other magicians, but not over the net. Some people are serious about magic and some aren't. Some see David Blaine perform a trick and they get hooked into it for a week or two and then they just forget about it. I truly think that is how lip is. He hasn't asked for help on ANY trick, he has just asked us to reveal the secrets. Read his posts, does it seem like he really wants to perform these effects? No, he just wants to know the secret because it annoys him that he can't figure it out. If he has a trick that he has a question about then fine, ask us and we'll help. But how are we helping him by saying "scotch and soda (INSERT SECRET HERE)"? We're not, he just knows how it is done, but he still can't perform it because he doesn't have the right gimmicks. If your going to reveal secrets to him through e-mail thats your problem, but most people here aren't going to reveal secrets to him over the board.

Well, if he asks for secrets without the intention to perform them at all or even consider performing them.. then I guess that's one thing. I know that sometimes I'll ask at the magic store when I see a trick, "What gimmick does that use?" Even though I don't yet own the trick, I need to know the secret so I can think about whether it can be worked into a routine or not. I may or may not buy the trick depending upon how it works. On the other hand, Erik the Lip may ask for a trick's secret without the intention of actually buying the trick, but remember, the priniples that one trick uses, can be applied to other tricks. For example, if Erik asked how Hopping Halfs worked, and he already owned an expanded shell for a half dollar, English Penny and a sun and moon coin, he could perform the effect without buying the set. Also if he wanted to know how to perform a quadra-bill effect, if he knew the sleight involved, he could change a 1 to a 10 or 20 or whatever and not have to pay for a miscut bill. Remember, we all were kids at some point. We couldn't afford every trick on the market then (and not even now). Did that stop us from asking other magician friends how something was done? No. I guess if Erik is not a magician at all and owns no tricks and just comes here asking for secrets.. that's one thing. If he is seriously interested in the tricks and has an interest in the magical arts, I see no harm in educating him. The moment somebody gets into magic seriously is the moment that I no longer consider them a layperson and don't have a problem revealing secrets. I just don't tell laypeople secrets. I'm too lazy to search through the posts to find what he has said so I'll leave it at what I have said. Also I provided my email address to help him find an SAM or IBM chapter near him. I don't have the time to reveal secrets via email though. Sorry. I guess if he asked something and it seemed harmless to tell him I might, but if I were he I wouldn't expect a speedy reply. I'm usually pretty slow with email. Anyways, I'm not trying to argue with you guys here. I hope you realize that I understand your point entirely and agree to an extent. Our views only differ slightly. Best Regards, Mark Schonfeld mark@markschonfeld.com

i intend to perform them. the lip

i also own many tricks. i do understand your point about non magicians finding out about tricks, that sucks.

If you own many, how does one more hurt?