Thanks, for the info, Magic Banker.

ok, so i watched the david blaine thing during commercials for soem other show (my brother had control of the remote). i thought it was incredibly boring but aside from the bore factor, i think it is amazing the control some people can attain over their bodies. as a kid, we all used to see who could hold their breath the longest in the pool--even if we wanted to beat our friend's record, out bodies just couldn't. think of the will power and control he had just to make it even past 4 minutes. its liek some of the more spiritual yoga type people, who are so in touch with their inner self, they can actually will their heart to beat slower or faster...so slow it nearly stops, and then bring it up again! amazing.

Chris Angel freaks me out. I know it's an illusion but it's a really good one and I get creeped out everytime when he levitates.

MagicBanker, if you know (and it's not against any magician's code) how the heck does he do that?!

Suzy

Actually, I believe it's Criss Angel. I've watched a few episodes of his Mindfreak show. He does pretty good stuff, but he totally lost me with his body suspension episode where he had his body pierced and suspended. Yuck! I guess he would appeal a little more to the generation behind me, I'm much more of a traditionalist.

I'm afraid I'm not familiar with Keith Barry.

Keith Barry is supposed to be an amazing Illusionist and there is going to be a show about him on Friday

I agree that it was boring for about 1hr and 40 minutes. But ABC didn't think it was too bad since they made 9 million dollars off of the event. David only got $250,000. He signed a contract with ABC for 4 events worth 1 million $. So, whether you like him or his stunts or not you'll be seeing more of him!!!

Also, he is attempting to break records that are already set. So, he's not the first idiot to come up with these things just the idiot that tries to do one better!

Oh MagicBanker - you're a scamp!


Suzy

It's a common misconception that magicians will not share the secrets of their tricks. It goes a little deeper than that. Think about it - if magicians didn't share their secrets, there would be very few magicians left. So the real statement is that magicians are selective about who they share their secrets with and what secrets they share. Magicians will be very reluctant to share their secrets with someone who only wants to know how the trick was done as an exercise in mental curiosity. But to someone who truly wants to learn and grow, I've found the magic community to be very sharing for the most part.

Go to any library and you'll find plenty of books about magic and how to perform various tricks and illusions. Additionally, with the advent of the Internet, there are now tons of websites devoted to magic. There are also tons of videos and DVDs which are rapidly overtaking books as the primary source of magic learning.

There are a core set of illusion principals that are the foundation of most magic. There are good books, videos, and DVDs that give great information on these principals. I've got an 8-volume set called Tarbell Course in Magic that is a staple of many magicians' personal libraries.

Check your yellow pages and see if there is a magicians' supply store in your area. If so, go and make friends with the proprietor. You will find this person will be a wealth of information once you establish a relationship. Part of that is because he/she is going to be wanting to sell you many, many effects, books, videos, DVDs etc. It is not an entirely inexpensive hobby, but it is one in which you can use what you acquire to get paying gigs (like for kids birthday parties and such) to help offset expenses.

Find out if there is a local magicians chapter of one of the two primary magicians organizations. These are the International Brotherhood of Magicians and the Society of American Magicians. Both organizations' websites can give you local chapter information. If there is a chapter nearby, go check out a meeting. You'll make new friends who will, for the most part, be open about sharing with you how to perform and improve your magic. This will also springboard you into being able to find out about upcoming magic conventions, teaching lectures, and additional networking, learning, and performing opportunities.

Magic is also much more than just knowing how the trick is done. Magic is a performance art. It requires acting ability, stage presence, knowledge of use of voice and body, understanding of human psychology, scripting and practice. Anyone can perform tricks. It's a real artist who can perform magic.

Will you come across some real jerks in the magic community? You better believe it. It's no different than any other segment of society. You'll also find some magicians, especially professionals, that will be reluctant to share with you specifics of effects and illusions that they have developed themselves. For the most part it's because that's what puts food on their table. If they give it away, they are giving away their livelihood. But even so, most of them will share with you basic underlying principals and you can use your own creativity from there.

Magic is like any other hobby or profession. Most people only want to scratch the surface. But to those who truly want to dive deeper, it's a terrific experience. Your desire and effort are the only limiting factors.

Maybe David Blaine can do something for Stewart Scott's lazy eye.

Did SS yell out a big ol' 'Boo-yaa!' when he didn't make it?

That Criss Angel freaks me out. MINDFREEEAAAKKK!!!...Those of you who watch 'The Soup' on E! should get that

Ok, now this guy is an amazing Magician!

Everyday Magic

Suzy,

If you're really interested in learning more about levitation illusions, check out the following websites. BUT if you don't want to know how its done, then don't go there.

Balducci Levitation

King Rising Levitation

Asrah Levitation

Zero Gravity Levitation

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These sites help explain how Blaine and Angel levitate from a short distance, but I've seen Criss Angel in the air 10 feet or more!

(Thanks for the sites, Bugs!)

Suzy