These guy have gone crazy again…

Remember the Holiday Giveaway? It’s back and it comes with some real GOLD nuggets. Here are the details…

http://bit.ly/freegoldarcane

My first lil jam video shot with 35mm adapter. Again, not much cardistry in it, but more of just a relaxing, fun video.

Played with colour grading a lil here to try to make it more filmy looking and adding more of a yellowy tint to the feel as well.

Shot with HV20 + RNG35.
Edited with Sony Vegas 8.0

Music: Yellow by Coldplay

-Brendan Low

I didn’t really plan on making a video this year, as I’ve been extremely busy as a film student and freelance DP the last year. However, as I couldn’t resist grabbing a few shots on my Canon 7D (a stills camera that also has a decent video feature if you’re a talented DP) while I was there. When I decided I would do a video, I also decided to keep it short and sweet, so there’s none of that 10-minute-documentary-thingy I did the previous years. To see exactly what I made, you’ll just have to watch it.

As I didn’t have a lot of footage, I used every last bit of good footage that was to be found on my CF cards when I got home. The video was edited this weekend, and the music selection derived from the flight to the UK. I was listening to MA’s newest album, Heligoland, and I figured “I want to make a video to this song some day”, and I was sold.

Ah well. Thoughts, thoughts, thoughts. Please, do enjoy yourself.

Comments are appreciated as always. Full credits in the video.

-Allan Hagen

—

Want to learn how to get more views on YouTube videos?

The last couple of weeks I’ve been talking to Michael from BMPokerworld to give you guys a nice deal on this deck they have produced exclusively with the USPCC.

They got a really small run printed and I thought you wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to get your hands on one of these for your collection.

Brown Bicycle Rider Back

I didn’t present myself as .thecuso but “the guy from Best Magic Deals“, so after I explained what the blog was all about he thought we should do something together.

I tried my best to get you a 50% discount but that would only happen on my dreams… Instead, I managed to squeeze a cool contest that will be up until the end of february.

Brown Bicycle Contest

For every $10 spent from today to the 31st of march you will get an entry for a raffle where you can win a $100 gift certificate to spend on their store. Be it playing cards, poker chips, accessories… (milf not includded in the package)

NOTE: It’s very important that you write a note on your order saying that you want to enter .thecuso‘s raffle.

Wan’t free decks

I also managed to get a coupon code that reads:

“Buy 12 Brown Bicycle decks or more and I will throw in 2 extra decks for free”.

If you want to know how to get this coupon code head over to BestMagicDeals.com and find out ;)

EDIT: Ok, the coupon code is “bestmagicdeals”, feel free to use it but if you find it useful go subscribe to the god damn blog!

-Alejandro Portela

.thecuso

Here is a cool “sexy time” kind of video by the malaysian dudes. Magic, flourishes and a lot of fun.

The manipulation here might not be high class but it’s here because I liked it.

At least check out the bloopers!

It’s been a while since the last time I blog something about coins instead of cards but there’s a good reason…

First of all, this DVD is only on sale in Japan at the moment but it’s coming to our market later this month.

Ponta the Smith is a magician from Osaka Japan, and in this DVD, he takes you through his handlings of some of the best coin routines around includding: Spellbound, One Coin Routine, Tenkai Pennies, 3 Coins Across, Vanish, 3 Fly, Winged Silver, Matrix, Backfire Matrix, Quick Matrix, Backfire Assembly.

Ponta the Smith has been a highly-sought, underground sensation and his improvements in the coin genre have taken the world by suprise. With Sick, he’s ready to blow up your conceptions of coin magic. Sick is his first DVD, and it is ready to take coin magic to a higher level of performance. Shot in a visual style, Ponta the Smith doesn’t say a word — he walks you through each one of his moves in an easy-to-learn, up-close style.

The reason I’m blogging this is because, man, I want some Morgan Dollars and I want them RAITNAO!

This damn trailer, and the other performance videos from Ponta the Smith at youtube, have made me want to pick up coin magic again.

I’ve read somewhere on a forum, maybe at the magic café, that this guy has done to coin magic what Dan and Dave did to card magic…

I’m not sure it’s the same thing but trust me, David Roth or Troy Hooser among others didn’t get me so motivated. Even though everyone KNOWS (and i’m no exception) that they are the “pros”.

I can’t wait to pick this up as soon as it’s out (this month) but first I need some good ol’ dollars.

Question is, Schoolcraft or Lassen?

-Alejandro Portela

Check it out: Sick by Ponta the Smith

Cool promotion from Arcane Playing Cards. For a limited time, order an Arcane Card Clip by Joe Porper with the special ace cutout and get a black arcane deck for free.

If you speak to Joe (call him, he’ll talk to you), you’ll realize he feels strongly about metal work.

Joe will talk your ear off about the metal you start with and how you conduct your project. Joe sees no point in doing it if it’s not going to be the best.

Joe implemented our idea for the cutout reveal so that the beautiful Arcane ace could bleed right through the metal. It’s wonderful.

Not only do you get a tough-as-nails, card straightening, card clip to keep your cards safe – but you get a clip that lets the ace shine right through the metal.

Magicians in many countries swear by Porper protective clips, so why not do some mighty fine swearing of your own? Order one, or both, today.

Want more bargains like this one? Subscribe to Best Magic Deals

HO HO HO!

I know you’ve been waiting for this for almost a month and it’s been killing you and all that but today the wait is over.

52 of you have been chosen by the stars to be one of the lucky winners. It has been an awesome experience climbing down your chimneys and falling down your rooftops.

This giveaway has been a huge one thanks to all the sponsors that made it possible, let’s give them a big round of thankful applause!

I just want to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.

Congratulations for being so awesome,

Here is the complete list of winners: Christmas Giveaway Contest Winners

There will be more contests and special deals really really soon so subscribe to Best Magic Deals’ RSS Feed, Email Newsletter, Twitter and Youtube.

Once again congrats to the winners and everyone who participated and see you on the next one!

-Alejandro Portela “Santa Cuso”

I give mad props to anybody who will watch the whole thing. haha. This is a damn long interview but I expose a lot of how I think. I hope this will help you have a chance to get to know me better than you ever have.

http://myspace.com/orbitbrown

http://youtube.com/orbitbrown

http://facebook.com/orbitbrown

http://twitter.com/orbitbrown

persist&endure,
Chris Brown

Happy Holidays guys,

Christmas is here and it comes with a nice red sack filled with shiny gifts for you, my loyal and adorable readers.

I’ve been talking to a few friends and companies about sponsoring a unique giveaway with magic products, playing cards and collectors’ items… because I know everyone loves free stuff, am I right? ;)

What first started as a small contest for Black Friday has turned into one of the richest giveaways with contributions from the main companies in the business and big names from card flourishing, magic, hypnosis and mentalism.

You are the ones that make .thecuso and I want to thank you for being there everyday, sharing your videos and ideas and helping others with your tutorials and constructive comments.

Christmas is a good time to give back and reward you for being part of this growing family.

“There are 52 Christmas packets for 52 different winners with an estimate total value of over $1200 in magic gifts.”

Before I explain the rules of the game let’s take a look at the good stuff.

THE PRIZES

1 Pack of Signed 1st Edition Smoke and Mirrors by Dan and Dave‘s (one of each).
2x Downloads of your choice from Vanishinginc Magic Store.
2x Decks of Bicycle 125th Aniversary from Aceking
3x Packs of 1 Black and 1 White Arcane Playing Cards.
3x Karnival Assassin decks from trickshopmagic
2x “One-Hand Popover” DVDs from Aaron Fisher
1x “GENESIS” Download from Andrei Jikh
1x “Surfaced” DVD from Chad Nelson
2x Signed Copies of 1st ed. “Inside” from Daniel Madison.
6x Uncut sheets of Bicycle Raiders From MagicNetwork
2x “My night with a stripper” DVDS by Chris “Orbit” Brown
1x “Stain/Shiv” DVD by Andrew Mayne
1x Copy of Hong Wong’s hypnosis DVD “ZAP” from Jay Noblezada
1x Full “Reality is Plastic” Hypnosis Book and DVD set from Anthony Jacquin
1x “Manchurian Approach” Hypnosis DVD set from Anthony Jacquin and Alakazam
1x $200 worth annual subscription to MagicMez
2x Packs of 3 Red/Blue Bicycle Vintage Racer Backs from Eyellusionist
2x Packs of 3 Red/Blue Tally Ho Fan Backs from Eyellusionist
2x Packs of 3 1st edition Bicycle Raiders From MagicNetwork
6x PDF downloads of your choice from Dee Christopher
1x $25 gift certificate to spend on Dan and Dave‘s On Demands
1x “Thunderbird” PDF from Lee Asher
3x 1-on-1 Training Videos (of your choosing) from Theory 11
5 “Devious” PDF from Geraint Clarke

How to win

To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment below before everyone else.

Yes, that’s all.

The first 20 people that leave a comment will receive a prize from the above list. 100% sure.

The rest of the gifts will be assigned at random from all the comments received before the 25th of December, just make sure you use your personal email when you post the comment so we can contact you if you win.

RULES

In order to participate, you must write a Christmas related comment. It could be a quote, a funny line, something cheerful or simply your best wishes for the holidays. Be creative and original, but please try not to be repetitive.

Want a suggestion? Start writing it down right now and store it somewhere in your computer so when the time comes you can copy-paste it right away. It will save you some precious time.

How will you know when the comments are open?

I highly encourage you to subscribe to the rss feed or email newsletter, friend me on facebook and follow me on twitter.

Especially the last ones… because there, I’m going to announce the official launch in real time and give you some clues and hints prior to the event.

Hey, that’s optional, you can always try the oldschool “refresh page” method muahaha!

How to double your chances of winning

Here is a little trick you can do to double your chances of winning one of the gifts.

With your twitter account follow @BestMagicDeals and retweet the following message:

“@BestMagicDeals RT to Win over $1200 worth of magic, cardistry, poker and hypnosis products. More info at http://bit.ly/santacuso”

Sounds good, right?

Stay tuned and alert, Santa Cuso is watching you…

Good luck,

-Alejandro Portela

—

Looking for good magic coupon codes to save on your orders? Take a look at Best Magic Deals…

My friend Kate, Ekaterina Dobrokhotova, has just entered a video contest and she asked me for a little help on promoting her entry. As I did in the past for Shoeman and CJ here is the post to support her. I hope you do the same, specially after reading what she’s got to offer in return for the favour.

Here is her message:

Hi everyone,

As you already know who I am, I won’t start off with an introduction, but rather with a little favor. As some of you know, I work in Show Business, Modeling and currently completing a bachelor degree in Marketing and I found a perfect job contract: International Shopping Consultant. The application to this job required the production of a video entry and the winner of the job title is based on BUZZ alone.

Here is the favor part: I need you to COMMENT (recommend me for the job), RATE (5 stars) and SHARE this video such that I beat the current highest viewed video.

I’d like to take this job offer as an opportunity to also give back to the community.

Here is how we will play this out:

Prizes

2000 views:

randomly chosen commenter will receive 2 decks of cards from the cards that I own… could be Arcanes, Wynns… you get my drift, but I decide.

6000 views:

I donate the sealed ANACONDA DVD to .thecuso’s upandcoming section.

12 000 views:

I donate the SECRET BOOK OF DE’VO volume 1 to .thecuso’s upandcoming section.

Over 12 000 views

: I will do more draws among comments, but we still have to get there, needless to say, I feel very generous.

How to vote

Here is my video entry: http://job.letsbuyit.co.uk/EkaterinaDobrokhotova

You may also check it on YouTube and directly comment and rate there:
International Shopping Consultant Entry: EKATERINA

IF I get the job, here is the list of cities I will visit: Berlin, London, Milan, Paris, New York City, Hong Kong and Tokyo. I will make sure I get to jam with as much folks as possible, so you know what you need to do!!!

Thanks for the support,
Ekaterina

—

So here is what you want to do…

Let’s go viral

-Play the video a few times or get your drinking bird to click the play button while you are practicing your bottom deals.

-Share the video in the forums. Not only magic forums but in the offtopic section of every nerdy forum that you are registered. In the thread topic you can put something like “What do you think about her legs?”, “I think she’s got a sexy accent” or something like that…

-Write a blurb on Facebook and upload the (not so)Secret Books(anymore) photo into an album and tag everyone there with a link to the video in the description.

-Retweet this post on twitter. It always works.

-Email it to your friends asking for feedback on your potential girlfriend. “Yo guys she does cardz just like me! Do you think I should ask her out?”

-Do all of the above mentioned things and pray to your favourite deity.

Alejandro Portela

Here is a nice promotion from the E guys. Could be the best campaign this year… I wonder how T11 is going to respond to this… Anyway thanks BestMagicDeals for the post ;)

Here we go…

The guys at Ellusionist have gone crazy. For these Christmas Holidays they bring us a contest where you can win from a $1500 credit card to spend at their store and a 32gb Ipod Touch loaded with Magic DVDS to hundreds of Arcane decks and even some ultra rare 1st edition Black Ghost Decks, yeah, those you saw at eBay for $500 a couple of months ago.

Here are some of the goodies up for grabs…

-1500 USD to spend at Ellusionist
-32gb 3rd gen Ipod Touch loaded with How to do Street Magic, Revolution, Shapeshifter, Crash Course 1, Crash 2, Ninja 1, Ninja 2, Kard Klub, Inside Magic, King Rising, Hover Card, and a backup DVD of each.
-45 minutes private training session with Brad Christian
-Hundreds of Arcane Playing Cards and Arcane Clips
-Uncut 1st Edition Black Ghost Deck Sheets
-Gaff uncut sheets
-Ultra rare 1st edition Black Ghosts
-Arcane Deck Uncut Sheets
-Ellusionist Street Bag loaded with DVDS
-Thousands of tattoos.

They have put out a special page where they explain how to get all those amazing prizes.

Go check it out now: Ellusionist Holiday Giveaway

Holly shiznit! Check out Brad’s S Fans!!! They are the best I’ve ever seen!!! ¬¬

The world’s first reverse index deck.

Bicycle Lefty Deck

The Lefty Deck creates new fan, peek, and spreading possibilities for both left- and right-handed users, and has countless possibilities for gaffs.

52 cards , 2 jokers (riding in the opposite direction than a normal deck), 1 Blank Face card, 1 mirror image Ace of Spades.

THE DEAL

Aceking is back to bring us this special deal… Get your Lefty deck for only $6.95 per deck.

SHIPPING METHOD

Shipping is only $13.50 for up to 14 decks WORLDWIDE delivery so feel free to check out the past Sunday Cards posts or ask him for any deck you desire. He’s got everything in store!

HOW TO ORDER

Mix your order and tell him that you are subscribed to .thecuso. This is very important!

Send a PayPal payment to John@jtsdeals.com and include a note indicating item/quantity. You can also send any questions and he’ll answer right away…

For those of you asking where’s the best place to buy playing cards online here you have you answer.

Aceking Playing Cards

-Alejandro

This time it’s going to be exclusive to the people subscribed to either the rss feed, newsletter, twitter or facebook. You WON’T see this post on the frontpage.

We’ll keep it simple and direct…

Here is the deal:

2 Decks Bicycle Standard Playing Cards
2 Bicycle Rider Back Seconds
1 Bicycle Rejuvenate
2 Tally-ho Circle
2 Tally-Ho Fan
2 Ace cartamundi
2 Bicycle Safety Back

Why 13? Because it leaves room for an extra surprise deck. At least one lucky buyer will get a free Bee Watermelon RJRTC deck. Sounds tempting enough?

Go to the Private pack listing here: .thecuso private pack

Don’t forget to mention that you are an avid .thecuso reader during check out to enter the draw.

John Aragi
Aceking Playing Cards

SAVE $100 on your next order at Ellusionist using this coupon code: $100OFF

—

A bit of magic and card flourishing from the youth of Lithuania…

After the long wait, here comes our full project.

Credits:
Dan and Dave
Daniel Madison
The Virts
Alejandro Portela
Le Paul
Ashford Kneitel
Matt and Max
Florian Machefer
Cardini
Akira Fuji
Yannick Chretien
Lee Asher
Chad Nelson
Kevin Ho
Chris Kenner
David Stone

Music:
Kaiser Chiefs – Ruby. All copyrights goes to Sony Music Entertainment, Kaiser Chiefs and UMG. I don’t claim any rights.

Made in Lithuania with Sony DCR-HC53 and Sony Vegas 8 Pro. All rights reserved to Sony Entertainment.

I got this little thing when I met Joshua Jay, Jon Allen and Andi Gladwin at Magic Valongo 09 in Portugal a few weeks ago. It’s is probably one of my best buys of the year in terms of cards / magic stuff considering it will last longer than a thousand bricks of playing cards and won’t steal my precious time like those, also great, magic books I got from their company, although Card Fictions was slim enough to get on top of my remember the milk to-read list…

I never knew what to do with my old Michael Skinner’s Ultimate 3 Card Monte set. Now I keep it with me all the time.

Same with my jokers, double backers, duplicates,coins and business cards, but the best thing is that I can stuff a deck of cards with a card clip or even my beloved Porper on top off all that stuff.

I think everyone should have one, it’s a nice leather gadget to add to your personal collection.

Here is a little video of Josh that I’m sure will convince you if I haven’t already.

This is the way to transport your playing cards. Used by professionals all over the world and the best-selling and most heralded accessory of its kind, the Pro Carrier is a case for all your close-up items.

Not only does it have a pocket for your deck (with deck clamp if you like), but it has an exterior window for business cards and an interior window for your favorite packet trick. It has two additional storage pockets for extra cards or predictions, and a zippered coin purse that will store up to four half-dollars. It has loops for your belt or will fit comfortably in your pocket, and it is made of soft, fine leather.

This is the classiest way we know of to transport your cards and coins, and it’s available at an attractive price.

Get it with the Cardfolio bundle for just $40 and save $10, that’s an awesome

20% Discount

Via | BestMagicDeals

This is the second teaser for the french production Bluff. A 3 DVD set by Queen Heart including awesome routines by 7 great magicians.

Card magic, roses, coins, gambling and cheating, card flourishing… There is something good in here for everyone.

You can see our very own Dimitri Arleri doing Mouline Rouge 2, one of the flourishes he’s going to be teaching in the DVD.

I’m really looking forward to this project. More info coming “soon”.

-Alejandro Portela

Aladdin 1001 and 1002 decks have been aroung since 1885, first produced by National Card Company which was later purchased by USPC. After more than 100 years in print, they are now discontinued. An Air-Cusion version was printed last year and is also discontinued. The smooth finish 1001′s are the most popular.

Here’s a special just for .thecuso readers…. see the listing below. This is an eBay special, when the listing is sold out the special ends. Mention “thecuso” in your payment and you just might get a free “mystery deck”.

Aladdin 1001 Playing Cards at Aceking’s

Sebastian Skowron and Dimitri Arleri came all the way from Germany and France to visit me and the best beach in the world, here in Spain. It was a really fun week and we did almost everything but card flourishing.

I taught Dimitri how to backflip, Sebastian taught us some basic Thai Boxing and Dimitri, well… Dimitri taught us how to behave as a frenchie in Spain and fail to pick up a single female-alike human being.

This is a little teaser that Sebastian put together while you wait for the final video. I’ve seen a draft last night and it is really funny. You will have some LULZ.

The title says it all. It was…

SEXY TIME!

-Alejandro Portela
.thecuso

There is a small like “treasure hunt” game with hidden messages and stuff inside the video. Thats how you can get the 18+ version, have fun. …

-Sebastian

After dropping so many decks into the water this summer it’s time to refill! Check out the Sunday Cards specials or this new section in the site: Magic Store

Chris Brown’s new video. Pretty nice card magic and some flourishes in there. Check out that Spring Sandwich routine in the end!

-Alejandro

World,

Welcome to a tour in my mind. Within this piece of work I wanted to provide the viewer with a feel as if they are going on a ride through my thought process. This is only a fraction to what is yet to come.

Back in early 2007 I was at a rock gym and I noticed that all the routes were named. Clever names to describe the difficulty or the rock setter. I walked past one entitled “Arthritis Onslaught”. I realized that I couldn’t climb this route. It was massively advanced and that’s when I realized rock climbing doesn’t mix with card handling. It roughens up your hands and builds catalysts making your grip and overall handling with a deck compromised and changed. It hit that I need to make a youtube video with difficult routes for my fellow card enthusiasts to follow. Since I believe I should surround myself with those who have more time put into magic than me then why shouldn’t I do this for younger magi than myself? This is why I do what I do. To push others so they want to become better. I love being pushed by card men who are technically more knowledgeable and more advanced than me such as John Bodine, Ricky Smith, Theron Schaub, Brian Hart, Dan and Dave Buck.

Arthritis Onslaught part 1 first came out in 7/7/07. Since it received such a good response I decided it was only right to make a sequel that would come out on 8/8/08. After AO2 I realized that it was one of my finest pieces only after a year or so of looking at it. The more I thought of topping it, the more I felt overpowered. I was always afraid that I would never be able to give something better but one thing I’ve learned is that with more time and knowledge put into any subject, your growth is exponential and once you demolish all of your self built boundaries, they become simply a choice rather than something in your way. With the more I learn the more I realize that I have no boundaries any more.

I want to go further in this tunnel and I want all of you to come with me. I wholeheartedly thank all of you for sticking with me and believing in me. I love you all.

persist & endure,
Chris Brown

So here’s another Sunday Cards special.. and yes it is good for the whole week till next Sunday.

To make it simple and fast buy these items from my ebay store and when you mention .thecuso (just add a note to your payment) you’ll get a free gift!

Bee stingers are back in stock. These are the 2nd edition deck, premium Aristocrat finish.

Here is the deal:

Buy 6 Bee Stinger decks and I’ll throw in a free blue wynn deck, buy 12 and I’ll throw in one Alchemist deck completely free.

Sounds good?

John “Aceking” Aragi