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Why Did I Buy The Iraqi Cards? Serious Essay

Is Kim Jong-il Next?

At first, I thought I could use the deck of cards to do some kind of force and revelation. I wanted to figure out some kind of revelation that would be entertaining but when you think about it, there isn?t anything really funny about hated criminals. Nor is there anything profound about revealing Chemical Ali to be the selected war criminal card.

I knew I couldn?t use the deck with kid shows. Well, I guess I could, if I hated the kids and wanted to scare them into weeks of bad dreams and possibly court-appointed counseling. ?Suzie, do you have the picture of Hassan Hasim, the Chief Torturer of families suspected of disagreeing with Saddam ? known for his ruthless handling of mothers and children??

New Use for Frame?

But maybe, I thought, I could use the cards for classics to be performed for adults (or older kids) such as the Penetration Frame. I could put Saddam?s two sons on either side of the frame before shoving a very sharp pencil through their faces and apparently through the glass. Or I could use the cards for my new Sand Frame but that is almost pedantic. I am proud of my new Sand Frame, by the way. I bought it from Ron London during his lecture in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Thinking back, I probably should have waited until his lecture was over before going up on stage and buying the trick ? but it was so cool. Ron was so kind by my inadvertent…

Is Kim Jong-il Next?

At first, I thought I could use the deck of cards to do some kind of force and revelation. I wanted to figure out some kind of revelation that would be entertaining but when you think about it, there isn?t anything really funny about hated criminals. Nor is there anything profound about revealing Chemical Ali to be the selected war criminal card.

I knew I couldn?t use the deck with kid shows. Well, I guess I could, if I hated the kids and wanted to scare them into weeks of bad dreams and possibly court-appointed counseling. ?Suzie, do you have the picture of Hassan Hasim, the Chief Torturer of families suspected of disagreeing with Saddam ? known for his ruthless handling of mothers and children??

New Use for Frame?

But maybe, I thought, I could use the cards for classics to be performed for adults (or older kids) such as the Penetration Frame. I could put Saddam?s two sons on either side of the frame before shoving a very sharp pencil through their faces and apparently through the glass. Or I could use the cards for my new Sand Frame but that is almost pedantic. I am proud of my new Sand Frame, by the way. I bought it from Ron London during his lecture in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Thinking back, I probably should have waited until his lecture was over before going up on stage and buying the trick ? but it was so cool. Ron was so kind by my inadvertent faux-pas and only hit me with his open hand, not his fist. I?ll cherish my bruised cheek forever.

Anyway, I thought about using the cards in my TV Card Frame. Do you remember this trick? Even after I bought it, I still couldn?t believe that it could work. A card is selected (forced) and vanishes from the deck only to appear between two pieces of glass securely rubberbanded together. (I realize there is no verb ?rubberband? and there is not an adjective ?rubberbanded? but Magic has its own language. Where else can you ?topit the item? or ?do a half pass? ? it is either a pass or it isn?t right? Or ?Back Palm? something? How about forcing a card from a one-way deck ? really there isn?t much of a force involved. But I digest.)

So what trick could I do with the War Criminal Cards? I humbly suggest that there are no tricks that can be done with a good conscience. I don?t mean to take a stand or be straight-forward but there is nothing entertaining about war criminals. Their crimes against humanity earned them ranking among the worst of the worst in the Iraqi war and the cards were meant primarily for our troops to identify them not for our enjoyment. They used the deck of card motif during World War II and proved helpful, I assume.

I could be wrong ? as I have proven many times. See: Inside Magic Predicts Svengali Deck a ?Passing Fad;? or ?Six Foot Guillotine Illusion ? Perfect Ending for Your Kids Shows? or ?David Copperfield, A Flash in the Pan?? or ?Penn and Teller: America?s Newest Christian Magicians.?

But let?s assume I?m not wrong this time. Let?s assume I?m right. Why did I buy the cards featuring war criminals? I think it goes back to my Magic-acholism. When I go to a lecture, I have to get the notes, the DVD, the gimmicks and the booklets. I do this even when the lecture is about stuff I?ll never do. I actually bought lecture notes from a dove worker?s lecture. I don?t even own doves. I purchased Doc Eason?s coin set ? even though I already own it.

Reality Magic

So, it makes sense that I would buy the decks as soon as I read about their availability on Ring2100. Why? I have no idea. Probably the same reason I purchased an instant costume change from a red dress to a short, but really clingy, blue skirt and blouse ? and I don?t have an assistant. So I just practice my incredibly quick change in the privacy of my own home ? that?s sad.

But I don?t think it is nearly as sad as the evil deeds that were performed by those in the War Criminal deck. There?s nothing funny or positive about the acts of a war criminal and to use the cards in our acts degrades the victims of these men and says nothing about our own sensitivity towards human life.

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