Sunday, May 25, 2008

  • Naming Names

    Currently Listening
    The Black Parade
    By My Chemical Romance
    see related

    So, I thought I'd try out this future posting thing, which means I wrote this.. yesterday. Well, actually I'm writing it right now, not yesterday.. but you wont be able to read it until tomorow, which will be today when you read this.... I think.

    Thats why I don't do time travel. (amongst other reasons)

    Anyhow, I'm going for mentalism today..or uh.. whatever day it is.

    I generally don't go down this route of magic...I used to, but I don't anymore. Therefore I know all the theory behind it, but it tends to unnerve people, for the same reason I don't particularly like talking to psychology students shortly after their lessons. I know they could be analysing me for anything they learned recently, and I don't like what it would show about me... I tend to appear as a depressive on most psychoanalysis tests. Anyway, before I go on about my mental health and the reasoning for it, I'll get back on track.

    I generally perform for people I'll see often, so them being unnerved by my prescence isn't productive... hence no mentalism tricks.

    There are exceptions. I won't hypnotise people, or use inevitables, but I will work with probabilities and simple maths tricks.

    For example. Think of a number between 1 and 10... most people choose 7. This can be used for all sorts of things I am once again unable to divulge... but if you want to make a magician's life easier, choose 7. (having said that, its  usually unimportant)

    Ok, moving into dangerous territory there, and I want to keep my memberships, so I'm going to have to go off on a tangent.

    Psychology of the stage name. That sounds good, so we'll do that.

    Stage names seem to fit into a few main caegories, but like most things I try to classify, there are exceptions, so don't quote me on these.

    Anagrams: for example, my name, James Radon, happens to be an anagram of my first and last names, using the first letter of my middle name to add a consonant. The name ssounds natural to me, so I keep it with minimal effort.

    Clever names with meanings most people miss: My mentor, Mike November (or Miknov sometimes, depending on desired accent) chose his name by using 2 letters of the phonetic alphabet (obviously M and N) which appear on police records and mean that the person on record has a mental illness. Mike November likes to use mentalism tricks more than me, surprisingly, and that's why the name was chosen.

    Child friendly names: These actually creep me out more than reassure me, which is what I assume the purpose of the names are supposed to do. If an entertainer came to my 5th birthday party called "Uncle Chuckles" or "Bobo the Clown" I'd probably be terrified. (then again, I have a rather large fear of clowns) If someone who I have to call uncle then proceeds to make balloon animals, shout noisily and generally act like a fool, then I have to question my family... especially if I never see them again and next year theres someone completely different, also called Uncle Chuckles.

    Themed Names: If you do an act themed on police work, call yourself inspector whatever... or a voodoo magic show? then why not be a witchdoctor, whith a witchdoctory name? That's the advice I was given when I was told to find a stage name. Of course, I don't have a single theme, I do whatever the theme of the even is, so I can't have a themed name. (currently, my name would imply a scientific approach to magic.... which could be quite interesting actually)

    Real Names: Some people decide not to change their name, and good for them. They keep their own personality, and if people love them, then its who they really are... of course if they're not so popular, thats also who they really are... And thats why I have a completely different personality for my stage persona. I have something to hide behind so I can be confident. (yup, I'm quite shy when not acting as James.)

    Celebrity Name: People who choose random words and add them together to make a name. The same system used by most celebrities: choose something you like, and the name you wish your parents had called you. This covers cheesy names like Justin Illusion too. 

    So, I'm sure there are more, but since i can't think of any right now, I'm not going to write them down right now... agreed?

    Featured Signature

    18 Alice 7SPsychology student. Therefore by rights I should be on edge around her. Then again, I spend a good portion of my day with her, so that would be even less productive than performing mentalism for a tutor in a recap lesson (since they become suspicious of everything, and also get distracted, asking for another trick) She seems to like a particular trick whose patter is based around probability, which is pretty cool (the interest, not just the trick) and though she can be a little blunter than some of my other assosciates, she has a pretty good sense of humour. Heh, she'd kill me if she found out I was complimening her to people she doesn't know.

     

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