I have a dvd of someone(don't remember his name) doing a two cup routine and in is explanation and theory, he believes that sponge ball loads are as strong as solid loads. He feels that the change alone from little crochet  balls to larger sponge balls gets as good a reaction as anything else.
I'm in 100 % disagreement with this belief.
One can certainly make an argument of convenience with certain loads, such as sponge balls can be carried in a pocket without bulging too much, and you don't have to worry about where to load from , etc. But I think a solid load is FAR stronger, more surprising and more baffling than a squishy sponge ball that folks may assume could have been there the whole time.
And then going into a sponge ball routine afterward further downplays the strength of the effect, much the same way using the fruit to go into a juggling routine somewhat demeans the cups and balls overall.
I think many of us here consider the cups to be a natural closer. Others must feel it merely a transitional effect that moves into a spongball routine, or what not.
Solid loads, and for me that means fruit, is as strong as it gets. If it wasn't I'd better be doing some kind of miracle after.
thanks for lettin' me pontificate for a bit.

I agree with you. I disagree.



 

I think you may be talking about the Carl Andrews dvd.  While it may work for Carl I think his thinking has probably been affected by his need to work light while hopping tables.  I prefer a solid load.  Think about the huge nut that Don Alan used to produce or the Max Malini block of ice and compare it to a larger sponge ball...

Bri

Solid final load can't be beat! It's more of a surprise.

Tom

Ya, that's Table Hopping Cups and Balls by Carl Andrews.
He uses the sponges for final loads for two reasons: lightweight (easy to carry) & he segues into a sponge ball routine afterwards.
It is stronger magic to produce solid loads (even lightweight solid loads). I don't care when he says about the spectator is still "wow'ed". The spectator would be MORE "wow'ed" if the loads were a large solid object.

Sponge balls are funny. I've been looking at standard Goshman 1" sponge balls (not the Super Soft kind). They are small enough that you could fit two or three in your hand and hold them in a fist IF THEY WERE NOT MADE OF SPONGE - you can't do this with 2" sponge balls. I'm starting to think that I want to begin using 1" sponge balls and handle them like solid balls and NEVER call attention to their spongey nature. Anyone who actually holds them will be able to tell, but anyone who is just watching is going to think those balls are solid and then you have a really wonderful trick in your hands.

Also, if you are going to do an entire cups and balls routine with sponge balls, read the Fred Kaps routine. He shows how good a routine can really be working with sponge balls - (plus his sponge ball vanish is something from another planet).

I can't use food loads as final loads at the hospital, the kids I work with are all in various states and stages of nausea, so I use balls or toys.

I do use little mini fingerling bananas for one of the loads I use for entertaining at parties. I stop at an Asian grocery that carries them while on my way to a gig or scout the hall's kitchen (if it has one) for anything small and edible that won't make a mess of me or my props.

I introduce the banana loads by using them in patter: "If you think that was crazy (after a 3 ball exposition from balls penetrating 2-3 cups or something else at the end point of my routine), this ought to drive you bananas!!", and tip the newly loaded cups back to expose the little bananas. It's corny, but fun and gets a good laugh. I suppose you could do it with nuts too and change just one word in the patter. The bigger sized nuts are just too hard and take to long to crack and share. A 3 cup load of mini bananas, strawberries, etc., makes everything easy. Peeling and taking a bite while offering the rest to specs. is great fun! )

It's fun to eat and share the small surprises. That adds a nice little touch of reality to the Cs & Bs as I perform my little routines. You are producing something real and immediately useful. That always wins applause and smiles.

I always ask the person that books the party, what the guests have in common. I try to do that a few days ahead, by asking that booking person to do that for me. That can help predicate final loads. And yes, I use my tie-dyed golf balls as much as possible now that I have them. It's hard to no let myself be talked out of 1 or 2 of them, or all 3. Golfers always want those balls.


dsalley13

Doris that's terrific. I've seen those little bananas in the grocery and instantly was attracted to their miniature size. They are so cute and unusual looking. I would guess that if your spectators have never seen these, they would think you magically shrunk bananas! Nice bonus.
Strawberries are a great load too, but do you keep them in a baggie in your pocket or something? They can get pretty soft pretty fast and can get bruised and messy. I have fake strawberries that look very real, but it's kind of anti-climactic when they are produced and are not edible. People were disappointed. I almost want to put them in a change bag or something after they have been produced and switch them for real strawberries so they can then be eaten.
Great post! Thanks for sharing.

Doris and Don… those are pretty creative final loads. I am pretty boring and stick with balls and from time to time lemons and limes (real ones). I have tried bseballs with some of the larger Cups and CC, but got cought each time... they were just too big. When I met up with Brandon, he showed me a cool final load with pennies covering the table.

Bruce

Strawberries, bananas, tomatoes, etc., all have storage problems. Strawberries need to be on-the-stem (expensive) so they don't have a decomposing stem-end cut on the fruit. If they are picked that day, I figure you have about 8-16 hours to deal with them, unrefrigerated. Wedding or anniversary caterers (not really a specialty caterer, just those folks that do those functions a lot) know where to get them. Usually that's a produce house or upscale grocery ( like Whole Foods). If I luck out, there are already a few baskets in the event's kitchen that I can carefully pick through. You just have to think, call ahead, and trust the event planner.

I cut the top 1 inch off of a couple of 3 - 1/2 inch tall, plastic Dixie-type cups and use them in the outside pockets of my jacket(s) for holding wet-loads like strawberries. You can flatten the cups a bit buy heating the sides with an open flame (candle, pocket lighter, gas stove. Squeeze them while they are still heated to form an oval-like cupette (I invented a new word! )  )

Limes, small lemons and other small citrus fruit is OK and readily available at most grocers. Some citrus can't be bitten into without making a horrible face, so I don't present them as edible by eating one. If you find the small bananas I was talking about, the cut stem ends need to be sealed, or they will bleed a sticky exudation in your pockets or servante. Just cover the stem ends with a bit of saran-wrap and tape that on with scotch tape. That will keep them safe for hours. Obviously you don't want to bruise them, so handle them with care. I use my pocket-dwelling cupettes for most any food load.

Just be creative and you'll find food loads fun and easy to do. Oreos are great too, if the kids you perform for aren't sick.


dsalley13

PS: Donnie, I am sure loving my little PF mini all chopped-cups set you made for me. I'm struggling a bit routining the kicker/sucker cup though. I haven't found any instructions for using it, so I make up my own routines with it. Stealing it from my table-pads Servante, seems easiest when my audience is distracted by some activities taking place on the mat. I've had some interesting reactions ot using it. From complete astonishment to a kind of "Mad at the Magician" look on spectators. I guess that depends on the crowd. Older folks seem to just enjoy it fully. Sometimes kids get so frustrated by it's abrupt appearance, that they look daggers at me. LOL!!! Oh well, that comes with the territory I guess.  )

I don't have many solid cups, so I haven't actually routined a way of getting one into the mix; however, with the PF mini's I think I know a method. If you have a point in your routine at which you put one cup aside" in order to make the routine easier to follow," you can use that as a moment for the introduction of the sucker cup. It would have to be a two-part move.

Once that happens, and the cup is over to the side, then you are in a good position to reintroduce it later, even with a drop load.

One thing to bear in mind -- no matter what C&B routine you do, the chances of running into a spectator who has ever seen a C&B routine with regular size cups is fairly slim.

Get to know your final loads. Understand them. Figure out how they react to your cups and how the spectators react to your loads.

Thank you Bill. I'll try to work that in. Sounds perfect!

dsalley13

If you have Paul Gertner's book Steel and Silver, he describes how he switched the hourglass in his ring on hourglass routine. It's that kind of timing that is necessary.