I remember reading this awhile ago. I even photocopied pages from the library's copy.
Someone said the author, Adam Gopnik, had hired Swiss to give his son magic lessons, and I guess the article grew out of those interactions. If that is the case, then I think it should have been disclosed.
When Gopnik compared Swiss's pass to Yo-Yo Ma playing scales, I instantly thought: "this is the first decent magician he's seen up close."
I encountered Swiss at the first Magic-Con. Between the main lectures, there was a "break away" session where he would discuss technique. We go to the room, and it's mostly empty. Jamy was there for a moment, but fetched one of the Buck Twins. Dan (or Dave) then addressed the small crowd (with Jamy over his shoulder): "this event has been moved to tomorrow because we didn't properly announce it." The next day I go because I want to see Jamy Ian Swiss. I read this friggin' 10,000 word article in The New Yorker.
The turn out is pretty much the same as before, and he's clearly disappointed. Some guy says "Hey, I managed to get Shattering Illusions from the bookstore."
Swiss: "Wow. It's been out of print for a few years now."
"Yeah."
Swiss: "How much ya pay?" (Subtext: "I bet it was a small fortune.")
"Forty-five dollars." (Original retail price.)
So he gets up there and starts presenting, and he's a pretentious ******* in a beret. Finally he does a card trick, and he chooses me to help! I'm in the front row. All I remember is that I selected a card, possibly signed it, and then he held the deck up in my grill. He told me to tap it with the pen. After I did, I felt a breeze across my face as the card "changed" (i.e., he did the pass).
Me: "That's not my card."
"It's not!?"
And then he got it on the second try.
His essay in Scripting Magic was pretty good, mostly for the routine created by one of his students. The guy needs an editor. Speaking of editors, I wondered why Genii had stopped running his reviews. It turned out publisher Richie Kaufman fired him for being too much of a dickhead.
