12.28.2007
happy holidays
Happy Holidays to all my readers. I hope the season brings you warmth and joy. I'll be back next week to talk about New Year's Resolutions.
12.18.2007
the season of magic
One of the best things about the holidays is the magical feel in the air. Since all your friends and relatives are gathered in one place, why not take the opportunity to practice your magic act? We have some cool tricks to try out this year. From sleight of hand to illusion, there's something for every aspiring magician in our trunk full of tricks.
It's probably best to start with something easy, like the Pen Through Dollar trick or the Cigarette Through Coin trick. In the first, you get a dollar from someone in your audience and then jam your magic pen right through it, but when you return the dollar, it's unharmed! In the coin trick, you push a cigarette (or a pencil if you prefer) right through a normal looking quarter. Both are very easy to learn but very hard for your audience to figure out. The Rigid Rope trick is pretty simple, but if you need help it comes with instructions and a couple of funny routines. I like doing the Linking Rings trick. Eight seemingly solid rings come apart and link together in dozens of ways. It takes a bit of time to master this one, but with a little practice, you can do a hundred tricks with them.
Ask for a female volunteer to help you with the Baffling Bra trick. Two handkerchiefs seem to pass right through her body, snagging her lacy bra on the way. This one makes everyone laugh, including your victim. But you might want to save it for after the little ones are in bed.
I like the D'Lite trick because it's easy and you can work it into lots of other tricks. You can pluck a light out of thin air, pass it between your hands, throw it to someone across the room or even make your ears light up. It's a very, very clever trick. I've been doing it for years and no one has ever figured out how it works. This year, I've been studying the DVD, watching master magicians work with the trick and practicing some more advanced techniques. I can't wait to try out my new “act.”
My nephew is into card tricks, so I got him the Card Trick Encyclopedia for Christmas. It's a staggering collection of 600 card tricks that have been invented and improved upon by magicians for over 40 years. The writing style is clear and the instructions are really easy to follow. I think he'll even be able to quickly learn a few tricks for the “show” this year. I also bought him the Learn To Levitate DVD. It's very simple to make money, cards, knives, balls and other objects levitate. Believe it or not, it's just as easy to levitate yourself. You don't even need any special gimmicks or rigging. All you need is about a half hour to watch the DVD and you'll be levitating household objects.
With a bag full of tricks and a room full of friends and relatives trapped inside because of the cold, you've got yourself a holiday magic show. Which reminds me, I'd better get going—I still need to practice a couple of those D'Lite tricks.
It's probably best to start with something easy, like the Pen Through Dollar trick or the Cigarette Through Coin trick. In the first, you get a dollar from someone in your audience and then jam your magic pen right through it, but when you return the dollar, it's unharmed! In the coin trick, you push a cigarette (or a pencil if you prefer) right through a normal looking quarter. Both are very easy to learn but very hard for your audience to figure out. The Rigid Rope trick is pretty simple, but if you need help it comes with instructions and a couple of funny routines. I like doing the Linking Rings trick. Eight seemingly solid rings come apart and link together in dozens of ways. It takes a bit of time to master this one, but with a little practice, you can do a hundred tricks with them.
Ask for a female volunteer to help you with the Baffling Bra trick. Two handkerchiefs seem to pass right through her body, snagging her lacy bra on the way. This one makes everyone laugh, including your victim. But you might want to save it for after the little ones are in bed.
I like the D'Lite trick because it's easy and you can work it into lots of other tricks. You can pluck a light out of thin air, pass it between your hands, throw it to someone across the room or even make your ears light up. It's a very, very clever trick. I've been doing it for years and no one has ever figured out how it works. This year, I've been studying the DVD, watching master magicians work with the trick and practicing some more advanced techniques. I can't wait to try out my new “act.”
My nephew is into card tricks, so I got him the Card Trick Encyclopedia for Christmas. It's a staggering collection of 600 card tricks that have been invented and improved upon by magicians for over 40 years. The writing style is clear and the instructions are really easy to follow. I think he'll even be able to quickly learn a few tricks for the “show” this year. I also bought him the Learn To Levitate DVD. It's very simple to make money, cards, knives, balls and other objects levitate. Believe it or not, it's just as easy to levitate yourself. You don't even need any special gimmicks or rigging. All you need is about a half hour to watch the DVD and you'll be levitating household objects.
With a bag full of tricks and a room full of friends and relatives trapped inside because of the cold, you've got yourself a holiday magic show. Which reminds me, I'd better get going—I still need to practice a couple of those D'Lite tricks.
12.12.2007
games for giving & playing
It probably won't surprise you that I love to play games. Video games, board games, puzzles—it doesn't matter, I'll play. This time of year is perfect for recruiting players because the house is usually full of guests and it's cold outside. Last night we were playing a hilarious new board game: The Redneck Game. It's based on the blue collar comedy of Jeff Foxworthy. The object of the game is to fill in the blanks to questions like: “You might be a Redneck if you've ever picked your teeth with a: Menu? Fork? Pen at the Bank?" and “You might be a Redneck if you get your daily amount of fiber from: Pork rinds? Toothpicks? Chewin' tobacco?” If you pick the one that's the official Foxworthy answer, you get all kinds of neat stuff to fill your trailer. The game is so funny I didn't even care that I wasn't the first to fill my trailer.
“A Christmas Story” is a board game from the classic movie that brings back memories of scenes like the Schoolyard, The Alley, the Department Store Santa, and "Double Dog Dares!" You win points by answering trivia questions from the movie to win the ultimate prize: the coveted B.B. gun. And in Pirates Of The Caribbean Trilogy Monopoly you play the role of your favorite pirate and battle for control of the high seas. Buy, sell and trade the most popular locations from all three movies, Port Royal Jail, Cannibal Village, Shipwreck City, Singapore Bath House and more are on the block. The thing I like about this version is it has a 60-minute speed-play option, which keeps everyone on their toes.
Everything goes better with pop culture and chess is no exception. This South Park Chess Set is right up my alley. The makers matched the characters to chess pieces perfectly: Chef is King, Big Gay Al is Queen, Kyle is Bishop, Cartman is Knight, and Kenny is (what else?) Pawn. I play this one with a friend who can impersonate almost every character in the show. Chess was never so funny. If you like a more traditional chess game but with an electronic twist, try out the Touch Screen Chess game. It's a tough computer to beat, but with 56 levels, a threat indicator, and a hint key you stand a fighting chance even against the computer.
Finally, this Major League Baseball Rookie Card Puzzle is my newest brain teaser. You'd think a puzzle of baseball cards would be simple, but it's not as easy as it seems. It's a collage of rookie cards for Hall-of-Famers, but the cards aren't lined up in neat little rows and the thing is just full of color. The cool thing about this puzzle is that you get to check out the rookie cards for some of baseball's greatest players like Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, and Mickey Mantle.
I'm still trying to solve this Fifteen Puzzle I told you about a couple of weeks ago. We've sold it for years and I've never been able to solve it. It drives me nuts. I give up on it. Try again. Give up on it. Try again. I'll solve it. You just wait and see...
“A Christmas Story” is a board game from the classic movie that brings back memories of scenes like the Schoolyard, The Alley, the Department Store Santa, and "Double Dog Dares!" You win points by answering trivia questions from the movie to win the ultimate prize: the coveted B.B. gun. And in Pirates Of The Caribbean Trilogy Monopoly you play the role of your favorite pirate and battle for control of the high seas. Buy, sell and trade the most popular locations from all three movies, Port Royal Jail, Cannibal Village, Shipwreck City, Singapore Bath House and more are on the block. The thing I like about this version is it has a 60-minute speed-play option, which keeps everyone on their toes.
Everything goes better with pop culture and chess is no exception. This South Park Chess Set is right up my alley. The makers matched the characters to chess pieces perfectly: Chef is King, Big Gay Al is Queen, Kyle is Bishop, Cartman is Knight, and Kenny is (what else?) Pawn. I play this one with a friend who can impersonate almost every character in the show. Chess was never so funny. If you like a more traditional chess game but with an electronic twist, try out the Touch Screen Chess game. It's a tough computer to beat, but with 56 levels, a threat indicator, and a hint key you stand a fighting chance even against the computer.
Finally, this Major League Baseball Rookie Card Puzzle is my newest brain teaser. You'd think a puzzle of baseball cards would be simple, but it's not as easy as it seems. It's a collage of rookie cards for Hall-of-Famers, but the cards aren't lined up in neat little rows and the thing is just full of color. The cool thing about this puzzle is that you get to check out the rookie cards for some of baseball's greatest players like Jackie Robinson, Sandy Koufax, and Mickey Mantle.
I'm still trying to solve this Fifteen Puzzle I told you about a couple of weeks ago. We've sold it for years and I've never been able to solve it. It drives me nuts. I give up on it. Try again. Give up on it. Try again. I'll solve it. You just wait and see...
12.05.2007
gag gift stocking stuffers, under a buck!
There are two ways to get at the goodies in your Christmas stocking: digging and dumping. I'm a digger. I love digging down to the bottom of the stocking and pulling out the little items “Santa” had left for me. My sister is a dumper. She simply up-ends the stocking and shakes it until everything comes out on the floor. Either way, the stocking is one of the coolest Christmas traditions because you get a lot of little Things at once. Now that I'm a grown-up (sort of), I always contribute some Thing from our 99-cent collection to the kids' stockings.
My first choice is always some Thing fart- or poop-related. Since I grew up in this business, I really can't help myself. Fart candy and fart powder are two of my personal favorites, but since both have a gassy effect on unsuspecting victims, I'd advise you to have plenty of scented candles on hand. For less smelly Things, you could try the classic whoopee cushion, which “gives forth noises better imagined than described.” The same could be said for the fart whistle. Fake poop is always a festive choice. The dog mess looks like a real pile of doggy doo. It's very effective when placed in cooking or eating areas. And this “oops” looks like a real human oops. Place it on a toilet seat to hear a chorus of “yuks” and “ewwwwws.”
Of course, not everyone is into poop and fart jokes (though I can't see why not), so we have some other under-a-buck stocking stuffer classics. For the car, we have fake bullet hole decals that look very real when applied to windows or even paint. And our phony parking tickets that look official but say things like “May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits” are great for handing out in those busy day-after-Christmas parking lots.
For other great fake-out Things, try the phony brick. It looks real, especially when someone is hurling it in your direction, but it's made of harmless foam rubber. To burn non-smokers, pull out one of these fake cigarettes in a clean air zone. Just blow on it to release a harmless white powder that resembles smoke and wait for the howling to begin.
But we can't let smokers off the hook, can we? Sneak one of these stink loads into a cigarette and watch the stench clear the room. My aunt started chewing gum years ago when she quit smoking and she's never without it. Knowing me as well as she does she won't take a piece of gum from me, but I can leave a pack of pepper gum lying around and she'll fall for it every time. And candy is everywhere at this time of year, so the bloody-mouth candy always catches a few victims.So fill those stockings to the brim with fun and inexpensive Things this year and have a merry, merry time watching people play their practical jokes on each other. And stay tuned, we'll have some more great Things to talk about next week...
My first choice is always some Thing fart- or poop-related. Since I grew up in this business, I really can't help myself. Fart candy and fart powder are two of my personal favorites, but since both have a gassy effect on unsuspecting victims, I'd advise you to have plenty of scented candles on hand. For less smelly Things, you could try the classic whoopee cushion, which “gives forth noises better imagined than described.” The same could be said for the fart whistle. Fake poop is always a festive choice. The dog mess looks like a real pile of doggy doo. It's very effective when placed in cooking or eating areas. And this “oops” looks like a real human oops. Place it on a toilet seat to hear a chorus of “yuks” and “ewwwwws.”
Of course, not everyone is into poop and fart jokes (though I can't see why not), so we have some other under-a-buck stocking stuffer classics. For the car, we have fake bullet hole decals that look very real when applied to windows or even paint. And our phony parking tickets that look official but say things like “May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits” are great for handing out in those busy day-after-Christmas parking lots.
For other great fake-out Things, try the phony brick. It looks real, especially when someone is hurling it in your direction, but it's made of harmless foam rubber. To burn non-smokers, pull out one of these fake cigarettes in a clean air zone. Just blow on it to release a harmless white powder that resembles smoke and wait for the howling to begin.
But we can't let smokers off the hook, can we? Sneak one of these stink loads into a cigarette and watch the stench clear the room. My aunt started chewing gum years ago when she quit smoking and she's never without it. Knowing me as well as she does she won't take a piece of gum from me, but I can leave a pack of pepper gum lying around and she'll fall for it every time. And candy is everywhere at this time of year, so the bloody-mouth candy always catches a few victims.So fill those stockings to the brim with fun and inexpensive Things this year and have a merry, merry time watching people play their practical jokes on each other. And stay tuned, we'll have some more great Things to talk about next week...
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