A deck of Bicycle brand poker cards – US$3.00

A magician’s wand – US$15

A set of magic instructional DVDs – US$30

The spellbound look of a stunned audience – Priceless



That’s why I started performing magic 2 years ago. That’s why I am still performing now. That’s why magic will be part of me in the years to come. Regardless of race, religion, creed, nationality, gender, age, social status, city slicker or country bumpkin, smoker or non-smoker, left hander or right hander, cannibal or vegetarian, prostitute or priest. Regardless of who you are or where you come from, every person likes to be entertained. To be held in awe when they see something, which they know cannot happen but yet is taking place right in front of their eyes. People like to break out of their predictable patterns of daily routine and magic, along with other art forms like music and theatre, provides this sort of escapism. That is why people pay hundreds of dollars to see David Copperfield walk through the Great Wall of China. That is why millions tuned in to watch Blaine perform to ordinary people on the streets in his first TV special. That is why the power of magic is so devastating.


I had the privilege of witnessing first hand the effect magic has on the layperson 2 years ago when I was doing my student exchange programme in America. During my short stint there, I happened to visit the theme parks in Orlando, Florida. There was a group of people gathered round this particular shop so my friend and I went to have a closer look. Apparently this guy was the owner of the magic shop and he did this effect which I still remembered to this day – He borrowed a quarter from a guy, spin it and made it float in mid-air. Then he made it float near his body and made it rest gently on the spectator’s hands. Beautiful. There was like 5min of stunned silence. This was followed by shouts on en-core later on. From then on magic was a part of me and I never looked back.


According to Darwin Ortiz (expert sleight of hand artiste & gambling consultant), the reason why some people view magic as lame tricks and not magic as something supernatural per se is because they think that the magician is doing something they could do if only they knew the secret. In other forms of entertainment, people pay to see performances that they know they can’t replicate themselves, be it a Michael Jackson moonwalk or a Cirque du Soleil extravaganza. On the other end of spectrum, people don’t want to pay to see performances that they think they could do themselves if they had the money to buy it from your local magic store or joke shop. However, they don’t realize what separates the magician from them is talent, skill and years of hard work.


As a performer, I have encountered many situations where the spectator tries umpteen times to explain logically how I did a certain effect, how to decipher the methods, how to "break the code". Their logical left brain tries to comprehend what is perceived as supernatural by their right brain. Why bother in the first place? Why not just enjoy the performance in front of you? You don’t attend a concert just to confirm your suspicion that there was a change in key from F major to C minor or watch a Steven Speilberg Movie to see the style and camera angles as he transits from one scene to the next, do you? You just sit down and enjoy the show! Even nowadays when I am fully aware of the exact methods certain sleight of hand artistes uses, I choose to shut out my left brain and let the wonder of amazement take over because the magical moment will only last for that brief moment in time. Even up to now, I am still stunned by the floating coin effect back in Orlando, Florida…..


"For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not, none will suffice."

A mission well-executed……..

Many people dread the idea of going back reservists, saying that it is a waste of time, waste of energy and would rather spend the time on their studies and career….blah blah. I used to have this sort of mentality when I started my first reservists as well. After a few ICTs, I realized the following:

1) It is a great way to catch up with old army buddies.
2) You can meet with many new people in one setting and network.
3) Free food and lodging – save a lot of money……
4) A good wake-up call to see how unfit you really are!!

This year’s ICT programme (2005) was packed back to back with route marches, live firing, NAVEX plus field exercises with full mission profiles. Thankfully, I had a really great bunch of people to work with who always took the initiative do stuff and ensured everything went smoothly. Thank you guys!!

The final mission exercise was quite interesting – a live heli-borne insert to capture the objective. This also means a longer route to walk!!! Freaking hell!! The chopper was a CH-47 Chinook. I have sat on a UH-1H and Super Puma couple of times before but not a Chinook. This chopper was definitely way bigger but it was also much more noisier!! The airmen weren’t kidding when they suggested bringing along earplugs!!

The movement to objective for my team was very smooth. All thanks to my pointmen, JH & Ah Xiang!! Damn confident in walking in the jungle in darkness. They weren’t the CRT for my ex company for nothing! As a result, my team ended up reaching the objective first even though we were the 5th wave out of 7 to set off!!! Freaking amazing come to think of it! The rest of my team were great as well, no complaints during the long jungle walk even though some of them weren’t as fit as before and had to carry MG and all. I guess life will be easier if everyone chips in and do their part.

Back in camp, the warrant officers are a bunch of freaking funny people. They seem to know how to crack all the lame and dirty jokes, all the places where you can find the “La Sup” entertainment, all the intricate details of how to “chow keng” and “wayang (not referring to you Kelvin!)” but yet when it comes to work, they are dead serious.

With all these different bunch of people, I’m pretty sure the next ICT, which supposedly will be one of the most “siong” ones, will not be a problem. Now time to book my IPPT……..