Bullets: Mindfreak’s prank, Blaine’s marathon, Asher’s trip, iTricks’ call for vids

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October 17, 2009

Whadaya know… a correction helps us get that possessives thing we wanted. ANYWAY… click, click, BOOM, here’s some bullets:

Dodd Vickers called it: Criss Angel was never arrested in Mexico, despite all the mysterious tweets and pics. The Mindfreak has been vacationing across the border with his family. But Dodd (can you name a living magician he HASN’T interviewed? We can’t) posts the videos that prove the whole thing wasn’t exactly for realsies.
David Blaine is preparing for a marathon in a contest established by Edward Norton, star of The Illusionist (though he was great, we’ll always love him more for Fight Club). Blaine is asking for your donations in support of the race’s mission: Fundraising to support the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust.

Card lovers will have a heyday with a recent post in Lee Asher’s Cardstar Diaries: The creator of the Diving Board Double recently attended the joint convention of 52 Plus Joker and the International Playing Card Society in Toronto, Canada. He has pictures of some incredibly cool, antique cards.
Said The Whale, the band that performs the catchy “Camilo (The Magician),” has released the official video for the song. Justin Robert Young had earlier asked magicians to submit videos of their performances for the video, at the request of the band. That project is still in the works, and needs a video editor. Below is the video:

Editor’s note: This post has been corrected. For details, click here: Read more

Posted by Joe Hadsall | Filed Under Criss Angel, David Blaine, General, Magic on TV

Bullets: P&T in NYC, mental over mentalists, Brown’s next gig, Pixie magic

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October 9, 2009

Bullets, bullets, bullets! Whoo-hah!

Bullets: P&T in NYC, mental over mentalists, Browns next gig, Pixie magic

Our upcoming Next Level with Sean Fields has us thinking about one of his influences: Penn and Teller. Um, two influences. ANYWAY: P&T are venturing off the Las Vegas strip for the first time in, like, forEVER. iTricks has the scoop.
Speaking of Vegas: Mike Weatherford of the Las Vegas Review Journal has a great column about mentalism and what makes it so compelling. After reading it, does it make you wanna set the cards aside and brush up on your NLP skills? Us too.
Speaking of great mentalists: Derren Brown has announced what his next venture will be. The master mentalist will star in several documentaries with people who believe they have psychic or paranormal abilities.
Speaking of wondering where is my mind: Did you know that Pixies drummer David Lovering was a magician? And good enough to be featured at the Magic Castle? We didn’t, either. Wanna see? Here comes your man:

Posted by Joe Hadsall | Filed Under General, Magic on TV

Daily Show plays race card ambitiously

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October 7, 2009

When we’re not practicing Aaron Fisher’s Illusion Control or dreaming up new uses for the M5, we chill in front of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. So we went absolutely crazy go nuts when we saw “Senior Black Correspondent” Larry Wilmore break out a pack of League Backs. While you may not agree with the politics or commentary, you gotta agree that Wilmore killed with his ambitious card routine (starts at 2:53):

Two words: HECK YEAH. Did you see how shaky his hands were, yet he still killed it? There’s more to talk about from this video, and you can do so in this thread on the forums.

Posted by Joe Hadsall | Filed Under General, Magic on TV

Wind to be featured on iTricks Clinic

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October 6, 2009

Remember, on VH-1’s Celebracadabra, the incredibly patient magician who was paired with Ant?

That was Asi Wind, a magician who has performed on TV and for countless live events. He will be the featured guest on this week’s iTricks clinic, at 8 p.m. Eastern this Thursday. Get your performances ready to go, clinic with the man, and try not to be as difficult as Ant, OK?

Posted by Joe Hadsall | Filed Under General, Magic on TV

Warner postpones sleep-deprivation stunt because researchers back out

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September 23, 2009

Justin Miller and B. Smith, the guys behind WTF No Limits, have footage of Andrew Warner’s sleep deprivation stunt! They captured this video a couple of weeks ago!

OK, SERIOUSLY… (did B. Smith really say “galliant?” Is that even a word?) The stunt hasn’t begun yet.

For months, the Columbus, Ohio magician has planned, trained and prepared for a sleep-deprivation stunt where he would remain awake for more than 12 days and break the world record held by Briton Tony Wright. Originally planned for Sept. 22, Warner postponed the stunt because a research team from Ohio State University backed out at the last minute, he said — allegedly because of ethical concerns over following a world-record attempt.

“A lot of doctors and researchers don’t want to touch an event like this, so I’m in the process of trying to find one that does,” Warner told us via e-mail.

Warner adopted a regimen of heavy exercise and a vegan diet in preparation for the stunt. The stunt got covered in The Other Paper, and he had a poster designed for it. The footage will be used for an upcoming TV special, along with performances of some magic tricks. But another reason for the stunt was in the name of science, he said.

“It’s important to me, especially when risking brain and permanent complications, that the experience be well documented by science,” Warner said. “Magicians have long used their feats and skills for the greater good (i.e. Houdini helping our soldiers learn how to escape handcuffs, etc.) and it’s important to me to continue that tradition.”

Posted by Joe Hadsall | Filed Under General, Magic on TV