So I've been in contact with Uncle Url of Linky Dinky, and as a consequence I've become a firm believer in the brilliance and ingenuity of the
magicSHELF. Everyone needs to have one of these! Well, that may be, but the behind-the-scenes story is that Uncle Url and I have worked out a deal. He's sending me a magicSHELF (and an extra one which I can give away as a prize). I'm going to test it out and verify that it does indeed work as advertised. Then he'll be able to use me as an objective, third-party endorsement. In return, when he mentions my endorsement in his newsletter, he might also mention that I have a book coming out. So it's like a cross-promotional deal. The catch is that I can't actually spill the beans on how the magicSHELF works, in order to maintain the air of mystery about it. [It is a magic trick, after all, and it's not good form to reveal magic tricks.] So I can say that it works, but not how... though it's really not too hard to guess how it works, so I don't think I'm keeping a big secret. However, by mistake, I already spilled the beans. So I now have to "reclassify" that information. Everyone please forget what I posted
two days ago. (Oh, and expect to see me soon on one of those late-night infomercials:
It slices! It dices! It's the incredible magicSHELF!")
Update: Uh, yeah. Before anyone else accuses me of being "Bought for 4 pieces of aluminum" (ouch, that hurt), let me point out that this is a magicSHELF we're talking about. I really do think it's a fun, cute, novelty item. (I've always been a sucker for stuff like this. As a kid I was a huge fan of the clapper and chia pets.) It's not like I'm lending my name to promote
Lifewave Energy Patches. The magicSHELF is real and really does work, despite being of mysterious workings. And sometimes it's better to let certain things (Santa Claus, jackalopes, magicshelves) maintain a bit of mystery, rather than ruthlessly exposing their inner workings. Plus, having linkydinky mention my book in their newsletter is an incredible opportunity to get the word out about it (I worked pretty hard on it, so I'd like to give it every chance to do well), and refusing this opportunity in order to uphold the principle that the secret of the magicshelf MUST BE EXPOSED just seems kind of idiotic to me.
Comments
Now people may say it's overpriced. But on the other hand, people willingly shell out $18 for t-shirts that they could buy at Target for $3. That's the economy of the internet. And if people want to make their own magicshelf, there's nothing stopping them. But a lot of people might prefer just to pay a few extra bucks to have it all pre-packaged and explained for them.
What? Misleading you say?? Since when has lifewave mislead anyone???
(can you feel the sarcasm?)
You use your common sense. (For instance, I have a page on which I imply there really is a Museum of Hoaxes. Hint: it's a joke.) Remember, there's also a slippery slope of skepticism that leads to being a humorless bore. Anyway (cries in frustration), there's nothing here to debunk. The thing is real!!! It's just a clever way of concealing a shelf.
Equally important is the principle of being objective. I see that in the original post, mine and other comments with a link to the SelfShelf, a variation on the Magicshelf, are unaltered. Cool.
So I support the fact that once in a while, when a great opportunity comes along, you should grab it with both hands and don't be too strict on yourself. As long as you keep up this great site which makes me smile every day (which few sites do!), I won't mind... too much.
He never said this was a hoax. A bit of a con, maybe. A rip-off, perhaps. But not a hoax:))
As to Lifewave patches, I can personally testify that they are real and they work. No hoax. No rip--off. No con. Trust me - I may not be a doctor, but I play on on the Internets.
Linkydinky first asked that I not post explicit instructions detailing how the magicshelf worked, and I thought that was a reasonable request. After all, it is just a magic trick. However, they never asked me to remove anyone's speculations about how it worked, and I wouldn't have done that. Then they floated the idea of using me as an endorsement to reassure people that, despite being an illusion, it actually was real. And I thought that was a good idea. That's all that happened.
Can't believe you all fell for it. Rubes!
If you
Secondly, I found out about the magicSHELF thread at MOH when somebody sent me the link about a week after it began. Upon investigating, I wrote Alex that I was happy he declared our product NOT A HOAX, and that was the end of it.
Later that same day, I realized it wasn't right to post my copyrighted instruction manual, so I asked him to take it down, which he promptly did.
Even later that same day, I had the idea to use Alex's "NOT A HOAX" certification as a way of lending some gravitas to magicSHELF's sales page. During that conversation, he let me know that Linky & Dinky were mentioned in his new book regarding our Bush IQ gag! Hence the idea was born -- I'll mention his book in my newsletter with the NOT A HOAX angle, and then again with the Linky & Dinky angle (we're psyched over getting written about!) and he let's me tell people he found magicSHELF to not be a hoax.
Is that corrupt? I don't think so. This arrangement is no different than car-pooling, by getting a piece of each other's exposure.
It's business, it's not personal. In my opinion, he should be selling "NOT A HOAX" certifications to everyone who qualifies, and for big bucks, too! That's all the Better Business Bureau is, a certification that you're clean.
I'd rather have Alex stand up for me than the BBB any day!
"Uncle Url"
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
http://www.linkydinky.com
"I'm taking care of business for Linky & Dinky & Binky"
magicSHELF is one of those 'wish I'd thought of that' things which, if I had, I wouldn't have been able to market in such a cool way. MofH is even cooler than snopes!
I think you guys should go a step further and offer a package deal. Buy "Hippo Eats Dwarf" and get $5.00 off the magicSHELF. Or vice versa.
Man alive, don't anyone see the symbiosis?
Good luck to BOTH of ya!!!
P.S. I have no idea why I continually type it as "magicSHELF". Bizarre.
Alex, I think it is cool that you decided to keep the mystery about how the magicSHELF actually works. The mystery is what makes magic so fun. 😊
Hey, since I did send this to you, Alex, can I have the spare magic shelf? 😛
The thought process of "I can't tell you how it works, but it does" sounds familiar though...
enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/results?search=magicshelf
Nothing to see here, move along.