FAT HEADS,
there are those who run around telling every body they invented everything they do and that they are the worlds greatest magician, but after they see your show their doin your act. and tellin everybody they were doin it first.
they've been doin magic for a year or two and they tell you they've been doin it forever.
the conversation always revolves around them and when they give you advise they speak from authority but you find out later they were talkin out their ass and it cost you alot of time and money.
they keep tellin you how to be great but their lives are in a shambles.
their always right even when their wrong and they never say "thank you."
this was me in my younger days before i got old and found out i don't know as much as
young people who think they know everything.
ART SNOBBS,
there are those in our community who focus an the mechanics instead of the show. who are consumed with the perfection of a move and perfect magical form, than fun and entertainment.
there are those who will only perform what they want or what they think is good magic, instead of giving the audience what they want or hope for.
the art snobb will starve before he will sell out. he wont bring himself to the fact that we
are providing a product. it is all about him. and his sacred magical family and tradition.
in show business he has focused on the show and little on the business.
the've spent their whole life to be great and they are great but they don't have the money that great men deserve.
they arn't being paid what their worth
if i was a good enough technition i would definately be guilty of this. fortunately for my own humility i am not good enough. unfortunatly i still ain't got any money!
THE SELL OUT,
the sell out thinks to be the best you need to make the biggest hats ergo he thinks he's better then those who make less hats then him. watching a number of street shows will tell you how wrong this is.
a quantity before quality mentality.
you see the sell out can't see the difference from "mozart" and "the back street boys" infact he would defend the back street boys because of their income and popularity...this is assinine of course but tolerated so everybody gets theirs.
the theme,
money, a popular product, simple vulgarity for cheap laughs, and pride in trash,
instead of skill,beauty, perfection and real wit.
their pride in their work is weighed by the money.
loyalty is the enemy because with loyality you need humility.
the sell out takes from the masters and claims it as his own.
you see the ugly truth about the the sellout is they want to look classy but their cheap.
and no amount of money can buy class or greatness.
being a magician takes to much disipline but posing as one don't.
the sell out could never apologize to some one above him for the sake of something greater if he thought he was right....because its about him and him bein right...not the art.
this was me as a pichman and shop owner back when i had money. it was about me and the money not the art.
THE GREAT ONES,
the masters with impecable shows and fat hats which are being copied to this day.
the masters who were like encyclopedias of magic with exstencive knowledge of our art.
the masters who touched so many and told thier students about the ones above them and did things for the ones above them.
the masters who got paid, or at least could support themselves. and when they were critisized during their finacial short commings, took it with humility and didn't feel the need to boast to defend themselves. and continued to provide for their students and family long after their retirement age.
the ones who left a body of work behind.
the masters with the enumerable other qualities i have failed to mention here but made it
necessary to call them masters.
all of these things i have fallin very short in, but they are still goals for all of us i believe.
THE REST OF US,
the rest of us are doing the best we can, to do the best we can.
but we gotta lotta obstacles. when we look for those to look up to we find folks like the art snobbs or the sell outs, or nilists or the whiners, or the ignorant with a beliveable story that could cost us alot of time and money.
the rest of us are just tryin to learn and fit in.
the rest of us just wanna be good at what we do and make an honest living like any other worker of any other lifes work.
i'm part of the rest of us.
